LIFE Environment Compilation of Projects 2005ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/life/publications/lifepublications/compilations/...CEPE Reducing pesticides in horticulture LIFE05 ENV/NL/000029

L I F E - E n v i ro n m e n t

European Commission

2005Projects-Projekten-Projets-¶ÚÔÁÚ¿ÌÌ∙Ù∙-Projectos-Proyectos-Projecten-Progetti-Projektit-Projekte-Projects-Projekten-Projets-¶ÚÔÁÚ¿ÌÌ∙Ù∙·-Projectos-Proyectos-Projecten-Progetti

Introduction to LIFE-Environment projects 2005

LIFE-Environment in 2005

This year, the Commission received 534 proposals for funding through the LIFE-Environment programme from a wide range of public and private organisations. The Commission selected 89 of these projects, all of which will apply ground-breaking technology to solve environmental problems.

Waste management takes the lead this year in terms of the number of projects selected (31) and of the EU funding allocated (€27 million, representing 38% of the total). Minimising the environmental impact of economic activities is the second most popular theme with 22 projects (€17 million). Almost one fifth of the EU funding (€14 million) will be allocated to 17 projects dealing with the sustainable management of groundwater and surface water. Twelve projects deal with sustainable land-use development and planning and will share around €9 million (i.e. 13%) of the EU funding available. Finally, seven projects address the reduction of the environmental impacts of products and services (€5 million).

Background

LIFE is the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU, as well as in some acceding, candidate, and neighbouring countries. Its objective is to

contribute to the development and implementation of EU environmental policy by financing specific actions. Since 1992, LIFE has co-financed some 2,500 projects, contributing €1,500 million to the protection of the environment.

LIFE-Environment, which finances innovative pilot and demonstration projects, is one of three thematic components under the LIFE programme. The other two components are LIFE-Nature and LIFE-Third Countries. LIFE-Nature focuses on contributing to the implementation of the EU directives on the conserva-tion of wild birds and on wildlife habitats, in particular the Natura 2000 network of conservation areas estab-lished by the latter directive. LIFE-Third Countries sup-ports countries bordering the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea in building their capacity for environmental management.

The current LIFE programme (“LIFE III”) finishes at the end of 2006. The Commission has proposed a new programme called “LIFE +”, which would run from 2007-2013 with a budget of €2.19 billion. The proposal is currently under discussion in the Coun-cil of Ministers and the European Parliament.

More detailed information about each project is available at:http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/life/project/index.htm.

LIFE-Environment 2005: Commission supports 89 environmental innovation projects in 17 countries with €71 millionThe European Commission has approved funding for 89 environmental innovation projects in 17 countries under the LIFE-Environment programme 2005. These projects will demonstrate new meth-ods and techniques for dealing with a wide diversity of environmental problems, thus contributing to improving Europe’s environment. The projects are led by ‘beneficiaries’, or project promoters, based in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. They represent a total investment of €220 million, of which the EU will provide €71 million.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “LIFE-Environment supports the development of ever more efficient and innovative technologies to tackle environmental issues. These innovations also contrib-ute to achieving the EU’s competitiveness and growth goals.”

Index of projects selected in 2005

Location Project number Title of project

BELGIUM LIFE05 ENV/B/00051 0TOPPS

Preventing PPP pollution

LIFE05 ENV/B/000517 INSIMEP

Metal precipitation for cleaner groundwater

DENMARK LIFE05 ENV/DK/000141 BIOCOVER

Giving methane cover

LIFE04 ENV/DK/000145 Odense PRB-AgriPoM

Reducing pollution in the Odense River Basin

LIFE05 ENV/DK/000153 BioCrete

From ashes to concrete solutions

LIFE05/ENV/DK/000155 AGWAPLAN

Supporting good agricultural practice

LIFE05 ENV/DK/000156 CO2REF

CO2 cooling capacity

LIFE05 ENV/DK/000158 RECYCLING/SYMBIOSIS

From sludge ash to stone wool

ESTONIA LIFE05 ENV/EE/000387 ECOMAN

Mastering manure management

FINLAND LIFE05 ENV/FIN/000530 Care4Nature

Reusing WEEE

LIFE05 ENV/FIN/000539 WastePrevKit

Waste not

FRANCE LIFE05 ENV/F/000053AMELIE

A lead-free electronic supply chain

LIFE05 ENV/F/000058 AWARE

Reducing water pollution by improving pesticides practices

LIFE05 ENV/F/000059 PAMELA

An eco-friendly demolition of retired aircraft

LIFE05 ENV/F/000062 GAP

Clean manufacturing of space and aeronautic panels

LIFE05 ENV/F/000063 IDEAL 79

Incentives to reduce municipalities waste flow

LIFE05 ENV/F/000067 SOUND SLUDGE

Reducing sludge by ultrasound

LIFE05 ENV/F/000068 MONALISA

A new identity card for pollen in the air

LIFE05 ENV/F/000070 METTE

A clean technology for textile conditioning

LIFE05 ENV/F/000080 RECLIONBAT

A new life for lithium ion batteries


FRANCE LIFE05 ENV/F/000082 DIDEM

A climate friendly process for tiles and bricks

LIFE05 ENV/F/000083 GEAMCOS

Green electronics for the aeronautic and military sectors

GERMANY LIFE05 ENV/D/000182 WAgriCo

Tackling water pollution in Lower Saxony

LIFE05 ENV/D/000185 INOCAST

An eco-friendly production of engine blocks

LIFE05 ENV/D/000193 Sludge Redox

Biogas from industrial sewage sludge

LIFE05 ENV/D/000195 SUPERWOOL

Halogen-free production of wool yarns

LIFE05 ENV/D/000197 LEADFREE

Training manufacturers in green electronics

LIFE05 ENV/D/000207 HVD

Avoiding chemicals in steel production

GREECE LIFE05 ENV/GR/000214S MAQ

Accurate assessment of atmospheric pollution loading

LIFE05 ENV/GR/000235 SUSCON

Sustainable construction approach for Greece and Cyprus

LIFE05 ENV/GR/000242 Elefsina2020

A greener future for Elefsina Bay

LIFE05 ENV/GR/000245 EnviFriendly

A sustainable management plan for the Evrotas river basin

HUNGARY LIFE05 ENV/H/000418 SUMANAS

Managing arsenic in groundwater

IRELAND LIFE05 ENV/IRL/000500 DfAuto

Vehicle towards better compliance

LIFE05 ENV/IRL/000501 Tyre/Wood Block

Retiring tyres

SWITZERLAND LIFE05 ENV/IT/000801 BIOCOAL

Innovative biomass cogeneration process

ITALY LIFE05 ENV/IT/000808I DEMS

A new environmental urban plan

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000812 RIWAC

Recovering chrome from tannery waste

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000839 C-DISPATCH

Sustainable distribution of goods

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000845 TIRSAV PLUS

Recycling oil mills waste

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000846 BATTLE

Encouraging water reuse in textile SMEs


ITALY LIFE05 ENV/IT/000868 PERBIOF

Reducing the environmental impact of water treatment plants

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000870 CEDM

A Centre for Eco-Friendly City Freight Distribution

LIFE05 ENV/IT/ 000874 GHERL

CO2 reduction from landfills

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000875 P.S.V.

Recycling ceramic polishing sludge

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000876 NOTRE

Reducing greenhouse gases in the cooling process

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000894 ESTRUS

Sustainable treatment of urban stormwater

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000907 ECO BULL-NOSE

Cleaner polishing of ceramic strips

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000911 VOC-Free Decals

A toxic-free industrial decoration

LIFE05 ENV/IT/000937 SAPID

Pacific GMO/non-GMO coexistence

LUXEMBURG LIFE05 ENV/L/000047 ECOSB

Eco-friendly manufacturing of wood panels

THE NETHERLANDS LIFE05 ENV/NL/000018 NoMEPorts

Tracking noise in European ports

LIFE05 ENV/NL/000020 HEIGHT

Climate-friendly cold stores for fruits and vegetables

LIFE05 ENV/NL/000021 CEPE

Reducing pesticides in horticulture

LIFE05 ENV/NL/000029 ESHA-TRR

Responsible roof-felt recycling

LIFE05 ENV/NL/000030 R2P

From bottom ash to high-grade metal

LIFE05 ENV/NL/000035 CLB

Potato blanching comes full circle

LIFE05 ENV/NL/000036 EFET

Minimising the magnetic menace

PORTUGAL LIFE05 ENV/P/000366 ECOVIA

The road to recycled roads

LIFE05 ENV/P/000369 OILPRODIESEL

UFO fuel

ROMANIA LIFE05 ENV/RO/000106 AIR-AWARE

Modelling metropolitan air pollution

SPAIN LIFE05 ENV/E/000251 OZONECIP

Cleaner cleaning


SPAIN LIFE05 ENV/E/000256 ZEROPLUS

Treating surface treatments

LIFE05 ENV/E/000262 GESMOPOLI

Mechanisms for managing mobility

LIFE05 ENV/E/000267 BE-FAIR

Greater value for fish

LIFE05 ENV/E/000285 RESITEX

Fashionable styles of waste reduction

LIFE05 ENV/E/000288 ALMOND PRO-SOIL

Late-bloomers to flower

LIFE05 ENV/E/000289 FERTIGREEN

Nourishing irrigation

LIFE05 ENV/E/000292 OLIVEWASTE

Treating olive oil residues

LIFE05 ENV/E/000301 ECO-CERAMICs

Upgrading sludge

LIFE05 ENV/E/000302 ECODIPTERA

Treating flies to manure

LIFE05 ENV/E/000313 GEA

Getting irrigation on line

LIFE05 ENV/E/000317 ELVES

Motor metals for motors

LIFE05 ENV/E/000319 MICROPHILOX

Journalistic title Managing methane

LIFE05 ENV/E/000328 PREVOC PLAN

Reducing VOC emissions

LIFE05 ENV/E/000330 PRIORAT

Growing greener grapes

LIFE05 ENV/E/000333 HIDRO SOLAR 21

Cooler means of cooling

SWEDEN LIFE05 ENV/S/000401 ART

Reacting better

LIFE05 ENV/S/000405 DME Vehicle

Heavy duty for alternative fuel

UNITED KINGDOM

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000118 TREAD

Blasting tyres

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000121 PROMOTHE MBR

Zeroing in on sludge

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000122 Clear

Woolly future for glass cullets

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000124 MAD but better

Treating sludge better

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000126 Formose

Formaldehyde to sugar


UNITED KINGDOM

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000127 QUERQUS

Taking to the river

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000128 BioReGen

Greening brownfields

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000131 MediSafe

Managing medical waste

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000137 NITRABAR

Reducing nitrate contamination

LIFE05 ENV/UK/000998 Integrated Greenhouse

Greener greenhouses

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryProfessional organisation

Name of beneficiaryEuropean Crop Protection Association (ECPA), Brussels

Postal Address6, E. Van NieuwenhuyselaanB-1160 Brussels

BELGIUMPhone +32 2 663 15 50 Fax +32 2 663 15 60 Email [email protected] http://www.ecpa.be

Name of contact personStuart Rutherford

Duration of project:36 months (Nov 2005 – Oct 2008)

Total budget in euro:2,603,332.00

EC contribution in euro with %:1,259,105.00 (48.37%)

Generic Theme:2.4. Diffuse and dispersed sources of pollution

L I F E 0 5 E N V / B / 0 0 0 5 1 0 TO P P S

Preventing PPP pollution

Official title

Train the operators to prevent pollution from point sources

Background

In past years, several small pilot projects have been carried out on water pollution from plant protection products (PPP), achieving reductions in PPP concentra-tions in some surface waters of over 90%. There has, however, been little or no coordination and exchange of experiences between these initiatives. Moreover, due to the small scale of their implementation, the methods developed are seldom directly transferable to the national or EU level.

Objectives

Through multi-stakeholder training and awareness-raising, the project will seek a significant decrease in water pollution from PPP. It will directly address PPP-users (mainly farmers), but also train key ‘PPP-intermediaries’ (distributors, advisors or agricultural schools, etc.), who will, in turn, inform PPP-users on the prevention of pollution from point sources.

The project aims to develop:

• best management practice guidelines for safe PPP use;

• a common training framework;• minimal technical specifications for PPP-contain-

er rinsing instruments, filling and cleaning places, sprayers, and other related tools and practices; and

• a checklist for safe PPP use, aimed at farm man-agers, contractor sprayers, extension services and other actors.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / B / 0 0 0 5 1 7 I N S I M E P

Metal precipitation for cleaner

groundwater

Official title

In Situ Metal Precipitation for remediation of ground-water contaminated with non ferrous metals

Background

A major part of the around 1.5 million soil-contami-nated sites in Europe are polluted with non-ferrous metals. In many cases, this has led to the contamina-tion of groundwater with metals such as zinc, cad-mium, cobalt and nickel.

Currently, the best available remediation technique for groundwater contaminated by non-ferrous met-als is to pump it up and clean it in wastewater treat-ment plants. This is a long and costly operation, which often fails to meet cleaning standards. It also often has negative effects on the local groundwater balance. Furthermore, the process involves the use of hazard-ous chemicals and the production of metal-containing waste sludge.

Objectives

The project seeks to prove that treating metal-con-taminated groundwater on site by accelerating natu-rally-occurring biogeochemical processes, is a better solution than current techniques. This method, known as in-situ metal precipitation (INSIMEP), is expected to be faster, more economical and more environmentally friendly, since resulting metal concentrations in the groundwater are lower, no hazardous chemicals are required, and no solid waste is produced. The project will demonstrate the technique’s long-term effective-ness and seek to bridge the gap to large-scale applica-tion by implementing the process on sites owned by the beneficiary itself.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryInternational enterprise

Name of beneficiaryUmicore NV

Postal AddressBroekstraat 31B-1000 Brussels

BELGIUMPhone +32 14 244811 Fax +32 14 245716 Email [email protected] http://www.umicore.com

Name of contact personEric Van Den Broeck

Duration of project:45 months (Sept 2005 – June 2009)


EC contribution in euro with %:758,236.00 (27.43%)

Generic Theme:2.2. Water supply - Water quality - Ground water protection

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryUniversity

Name of beneficiaryTechnical University of Denmark (DTU) - Environment and Resources Department

Postal AddressBygningstorvet, Buildgin 115 DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby

DENMARKPhone +45 45 251600 Fax +45 45 932850 Email [email protected] http://www.er.dtu.dk

Name of contact personPeter Kjeldsen

Duration of project:39 months (Aug 2005 – Nov 2008)

Total budget in euro:536,511.00


Generic Theme:3.3: Reduction of emission of greenhouse gases

L I F E 0 5 E N V / D K / 0 0 0 1 4 1 B I O C O V E R

Giving methane cover

Official title

Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Landfills by use of Engineered Bio-covers

Background

Decomposing organic waste in landfills generates large quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to the global problem of climate change. Conventional technology for extract-ing methane for use as an energy resource is seldom cost-efficient and generally captures only 40-60% of the gas produced.

The adoption of the EU landfill directive has led to improvements in waste management practices, along with a reduction in the amount of organic waste produced. Nevertheless, Europe’s existing landfills continue to generate vast quantities of methane, and improved methods are needed for its capture.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to demonstrate an innovative technology for reducing methane emissions from land-fills by up to 90%. This will be achieved by building a “bio-cover” with “windows” on a landfill, to increase the biological oxidation of methane and improving the collection of the gas. The approach is expected to be cheaper and more effective than current methods. The technology is to be transferred to at least four further sites in Europe, as well as two outside the EU, so as to prove its applicability under different climatic conditions.

L I F E 0 4 E N V / D K / 0 0 0 1 4 5 O D E N S E P R B - A g R I P O M

Reducing pollution in the Odense

River Basin

Official title

Odense Pilot River Basin – Agricultural Programme of Measures

Background

The Commission and the Member States agreed on a Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) in May 2001 to support the implementation of the Water Frame-work Directive (WFD). Amongst the activities foreseen by the strategy are the development of guidelines on technical issues and their testing and demonstration in Pilot River Basins (PRB). To date, tests have been carried out in 15 PRBs in 18 countries, including the “Odense Pilot River Basin” in Denmark.

In the context of the WFD’s CIS, in June 2004 the EU Water Directors identified agriculture as a key focus area, and established an EU Strategic Steering Group to address problems related to agricultural nutrient pressure. In several Member States, these problems are an impediment to meeting the WFD objective of a good ecological status in all water bodies by 2015.

Objectives

This WFD-related LIFE project will focus on agricultural nutrient pressure and its impact on achieving the WFD objectives. Its main aim is to demonstrate the devel-opment of a cost-effective programme of measures to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorous originating from agricultural activities in the Odense river basin. Further goals are to prepare a Pilot River Basin man-agement plan, to elaborate input for the EU Strategic Steering Group, as well as to demonstrate and make available the project’s results to other environmental and rural development authorities and stakeholders within the EU.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryRegional authority

Name of beneficiaryFyn County

Postal AddressOerbaekvej 100 DK-5220 Odense S.E.

DENMARKPhone +45 6556 1870 Fax +45 6556 1505 Email [email protected] http://www.funencounty.dk

Name of contact personHarley Bundgaard Madsen

Duration of project:29 months (Jan 2005 - June 2007)



Generic Theme:2.1: Water management at the scale of the river basin

L I F E 0 5 E N V / D K / 0 0 0 1 5 3 B I O C R E T E

From ashes to concrete solutions

Official title

Utilisation of ash from incineration of wastewater sludge (bio ash) in concrete production

Background

The concrete industry uses large amounts of fly ash from coal-fired power plants as a partial substitute for cement. Using ash reduces the need for its disposal in landfills. Furthermore, it avoids the consumption of fossils fuels that would have been needed for cement production. This saves natural resources and reduces CO2 emissions, in line with the EU’s Sixth Environ-mental Action Programme and the Environmental Technologies Action Plan.

Bio ash, which is currently disposed of in landfills, can also be used for concrete production, with the same environmental benefits as fly ash. However, full-scale bio-ash concrete production is still taking place in only very small quantities. A lack of documentation of en-vironmental impacts and the technical properties of resulting concrete products, and the need for struc-tured dissemination of existing know-how, are some of the factors impeding its more widespread use.

Objectives

The project aims to prove the technological, economic and environmental viability of the use of ash from wastewater sludge incineration for the production of concrete. A number of demonstration projects will be carried out, and results and expertise will be collected in a handbook with guidelines for the use and quality control of bio ash in concrete.

It is expected that by the end of the project at least 50% (5,000 tons) of the Copenhagen area’s total an-nual generation of bio ash will be used for concrete production.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryPublic enterprise

Name of beneficiarySpildevandscenter Avedøre I/S (Avedoere Wastewater Services)

Postal AddressKanalholmen 28 DK-2650 Hvidovre

DENMARKPhone +45 3634 3850 Fax +45 3634 3801 Email [email protected] http://www.spildevandscenter.dk

Name of contact personBo Neergaard Jacobsen

Duration of project:30 months (June 2005 – Dec 2007)



Generic Theme:4.9: General - Waste management

L I F E 0 5 / E N V / D K / 0 0 0 1 5 5 A g WA P L A N

Supporting good agricultural

practice

Official title

Integrated Protection of Surface and Groundwater in Agricultural Regions

Background

It is only since 1987, with the launching of the first national water management plan, that Denmark’s farmers have been required to consider the environ-mental impacts of agricultural activities. Today, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires farm-ers to consider environmental impacts not only at the farm level, but also at the level of river basins. This approach is new because until now, pollution from agriculture has mainly been regulated at the national level, thereby not adequately taking regional and local conditions into account.

It is believed that the environmental objectives set by the WFD can be achieved through farmers’ voluntary implementation of good agricultural practice (GAP), with the support of the Danish agricultural advisory system and environmental authorities.

Objectives

The project aims to develop and test an integrated advisory approach to the implementation of GAP. It seeks to demonstrate and quantify the impact of GAP on nitrogen and phosphorous in surface and groundwater in three pilot areas in mid-eastern Jutland. The integrated approach will be based on the participation of environmental authorities, the Danish agricultural advisory service, agricultural research in-stitutions and farmers.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryDevelopment agency

Name of beneficiaryDanish Agricultural Advisory Service, National Centre

Postal AddressUdkaervej 15, Skejby DK-8200 Aarhus N

DENMARK Phone +45 87405000 Fax +45 87405090 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personIrene Asta Wiborg

Duration of project:40 months (Nov 2005 – March 2009)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / D K / 0 0 0 1 5 6 C O 2 R E F

CO2 cooling capacity

Official title

Development and demonstration of a prototype tran-scritical CO2 refrigeration system

Background

Due to their low energy consumption and low leakage rates, centralised refrigeration systems are currently considered a “best available practice”. Neverthe-less, these systems generally use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) refrigerants – greenhouse gases with a global warming potential 2,000-3,000 times higher than car-bon dioxide (CO2).

For the past 10 years, research has gone into so-called transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems, which use CO2 as a refrigerant instead of HFCs. This technology is believed to have the potential to achieve lower costs, energy consumption and environmental impacts. Nev-ertheless, although smaller examples of such systems have been developed, above all for heat pumps and air conditioning units, the know-how required to build an economical transcritical CO2 system for larger-scale use in supermarkets is still very limited.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate the environmental and commercial benefits of transcritical CO2 refrig-eration systems for use in supermarkets and similar areas.

Based on an assessment of existing systems and com-ponents, the project will design an optimised CO2-based system, and then test its cooling capacity, en-ergy efficiency, safety and functionality at a laboratory scale. The obtained results will pave the ground for the development of a full-scale prototype.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiarySmall and medium-sized enterprise

Name of beneficiaryKnudsen Koling A/S

Postal AddressSandvadsvej 5 DK-4600 Koge

DENMARK Phone +45 56 646363 Fax +45 56 646364 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personFinn Christensen

Duration of project:24 months (Oct 2005 – Oct 2007)




Official title

Waste and Sewage Sludge Ash Recycling in Stone Wool Production

Background

Current production methods for stone-based min-eral wool used for insulation require large quantities of energy and raw materials. At the same time, large quantities of municipal and industrial waste products are produced that could serve as raw materials and energy sources.

The LIFE project “Recycling of Waste Materials in the Production of Stone Wool for Insulation” (LIFE98 ENV/DK/000629), which was successful implement-ed by the current beneficiary, contributed substantially towards the development and application of relevant first generation technology.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to expand the application of the existing technology for using secondary raw ma-terials in stone wool production, so as to cover a wider range of materials and achieve higher substitution lev-els. The project seeks to demonstrate the use of spent pot-lining (hazardous waste), sewage sludge ash, dry sewage sludge and carbogrit for stone wool produc-tion. A further objective is to enable stone wool pro-duction units to use locally produced waste materials, as a partial substitution of current energy sources.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / D K / 0 0 0 1 5 8 R E C Y C L I N g / S Y M B I O S I S

From sludge ash to stone wool


Name of beneficiaryRockwool International AS

Postal AddressHovedgaden 584 DK-2640 Hedehusene

DENMARK Phone +45 46 560300 Fax +45 46 563311 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personJens Ranloev

Duration of project:30 months (Feb 2005 – July 2007)



Generic Theme:4.3: Hazardous waste

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E E / 0 0 0 3 8 7 E C O M A N

Mastering manure management


Name of beneficiaryAS Valjala Söödatehas

Postal AddressTehase 1EE-94 302 Saare County, Valjala vald

ESTONIAPhone +372 4549596 Fax +372 4549485 Email [email protected] http://www.groupmachiels.com/ecoman

Name of contact personRaul Maripuu

Duration of project:30 months (Jan 2005 – July 2007)


EC contribution in euro with %:564,648.00 € (16.17%)

Generic Theme:4.4. Agricultural waste

Official title

An ecological and economic viable concept for 100% fermentation, advanced oxidation and ultra filtration of pig manure

Background

It is current practice in Europe to use pig manure as fertilizer on agricultural land. However, a third of the manure used is not absorbed by crops, causing considerable negative impacts on the environment. It endangers the quality of groundwater and leads to eutrophication of surface water. This can result in an excessive growth of algae and plants, which, in turn, has adverse effects on biodiversity and on the suitabil-ity of the water for human use.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate an innovative tech-nological solution for turning pig manure into bio-gas for “green” electricity and heat, water and, in smaller amounts, solid bio-fertilizer. If successful, the system will prevent the spreading of nitrates on agricultural soil and eliminate ammonium emissions, thereby rep-resenting a clear improvement in existing best avail-able techniques (BAT).

The proposed system consists of an anaerobic digester, a bio-gas cogeneration engine and a digester-effluent process, which includes an advanced method for oxi-dising ammonium, organic constituents, metals and colloidal particles.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F I N / 0 0 0 5 3 0 C A R E 4 N AT u R E

Reusing WEEE

Official title

Recycling computers and electronic waste

Background

While waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing waste stream in Europe, 90% of WEEE is still disposed of in landfills without any pre-treatment, and with serious environmental and economic consequences. However, EU Directive 2002/96/EC on WEEE introduces the concept of pro-ducer responsibility and obligation to recycle electro-scrap. An effective system for managing and recycling WEEE is therefore needed.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to create reception points for the collection, service, storage and processing of WEEE, thereby contributing to its effective and en-vironmentally responsible recycling. The initiative, a cooperation between the youth organisation 4H and the international corporation Fujitsu Siemens, will pro-vide methods for training young people in recycling and environmental issues.

Young people and 4H representatives will also re-ceive on-the-job training on how to run the recep-tion points, thereby creating job opportunities for the young people. The collected parts will be reused, re-sold, or prepared for recycling and further treatment. A strong emphasis will be placed on rural areas, where due to lower population and infrastructure densi-ties, recycling is more difficult to manage efficiently. After demonstrating the approach at 20 4H centres, the initiative will be implemented in all the organisa-tion’s 299 branches.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryNGO-Foundation

Name of beneficiaryThe Finnish 4H Federation

Postal AddressKarjalankatu 2AFIN-00520 Helsinki

FINLAND Phone +358 9 75124232Fax +358 9 75124255 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personPatrik Lindfors

Duration of project:36 months (June 2005 - May 2008)


EC contribution in euro with %:373,751.00 (44.96 %)

Generic Theme:4.7: Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryLocal authority

Name of beneficiaryHelsinki Metropolitan Area Council

Postal AddressOpastinsilta 6 AFIN-00520 Helsinki

FINLANDPhone +358 9 156 1421358 9 156 1421 Fax +358 9 1561248 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personRiitta-Liisa Hahtala

Duration of project:37 months (Jan 2005 - Feb 2008)


EC contribution in euro with %:540,017 (50.00 %)

Generic Theme:4.9: General - Waste management

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F I N / 0 0 0 5 3 9 WA S T E P R E V K I T

Waste not

Official title

Waste Prevention Kit for enterprises, education and households

Background

In line with the EU strategy for waste management, actions focused on reducing waste should precede those focusing on re-use and recycling. However, many waste prevention measures must be taken before a product is even manufactured. Therefore, prevention measures are seldom considered a part of waste management, and less effort goes into waste prevention than into its re-use as material or energy, or into its final disposal.

An awareness must be achieved amongst consumers and producers, of the environmental and economic benefits to be gained by reducing the consumption of substances, along with an understanding of existing methods and tools.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to significantly reduce the amount of waste produced in a test area by develop-ing, testing and disseminating best practice-models on waste prevention. The project will promote their use in households, schools, day-care centres, vocational in-stitutions, public administration and small enterprises.

Awareness-raising activities will cover issues such as “green” procurement, the eco-efficient use of materi-als, as well as everyday waste prevention measures. As part of the initiative, an existing waste benchmarking system is being further developed, to allow enterprises to assess progress made.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryResearch institution

Name of beneficiaryAssociation pour le Développement de l’Enseignement et des Recherches auprès des Universités, des Centres de Recherche et des Entreprises d’Aquitaine (ADERA)

Postal AddressCentre Condorcet162, av. A.Schweitzer – BP 196 F-33608 Pessac

FRANCEPhone +33 540 003 700 Fax +33 540 002 955 Email [email protected] http://www.recherche.gouv.fr/technologie/cnrt

Name of contact personChristophe Magro

Duration of project:33 months (Sept 2005 – May 2008)



Generic Theme:4.7: Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 5 3 A M E L I E

A lead-free electronic supply chain

Official title

Reliability and industrialisation of processes and equip-ment in electronic assembly. Compliance with “WEEE” & “ROHS” European directives

Background

Electronic boards consist of components assembled on printed circuit boards, using solder paste. Lead content of the boards is high and, in some cases, can even be found in the component itself. Lead-based hazardous substances in electronic products present a risk through the whole life-cycle, from the design, supply chain and assembly, to the repair and recycling. An alternative to the use of lead has to be found, as two European Directives, the 2002/96/CE on Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the 2002/95/CE on the Reduction of Hazardous Sub-stances (RoHS) ban the use of dangerous substances such as lead.

Objectives

The AMELIE project has three main objectives. The first one is to contribute to the design, develop-ment and validation of lead-free industrial assembly lines, integrating the whole electronic supply chain. The project will also study the reliability of new lead-free alloys in compliance with the RoHS and WEEE Directives. Finally, the project will promote the dissem-ination of the project’s results to small and medium-sized companies and public institutions. The AMELIE project takes a problem-solving approach, ranging from dual management of with/without lead com-ponents and analysis of the environmental fall-out, through to sharing the knowledge acquired by the consortium with SMEs at local and European level.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 5 8 AWA R EAWA R E

Reducing water pollution by

improving pesticides practices

Official title

Reducing pesticide-related water pollution by improv-ing crop protection practices: The use of embedded ICT technologies

Background

The 2002/60/EC water framework directive states that aquatic environments throughout the EU will have to be in good condition by 2015. Pesticides are one of the main sources of water pollution and aquatic environ-ment degradation. At present, no affordable or simple means exist to trace pesticide application by farmers. GPS geo-referenced systems are found on the mar-ket but they are mainly focused on applications for machines such as harvesters or seeders for large-scale farming. Furthermore, current services linked to these technologies are generally limited to the delivering of business related results.

Objectives

The project will use embedded ICT technologies to develop a methodology for reducing the amount of pesticides introduced into the environment. Geo- referenced data-recorders will be embedded on sprayers to allow a monitoring of real-time pesticide use. The project will also create collective filling sta-tions for sprayers which fulfil environmental standards and create services such as rinsing tanks and sprayers. The project aims to extent the results to other contexts by modelling pesticide transfer. This will be assessed by implementing the system in different contexts in the EU, namely in Italy and Spain. The experience will ultimately be disseminated among the stakeholders and the public.


Name of beneficiaryCEMAGREF-UMR ITAP

Postal AddressParc de Tourvoie – BP 44F – 92163 Antony Cedex

FRANCEPhone +33 467 043 780 Fax +33 467 046 306 Email [email protected] http://www.cemagref.fr

Name of contact personBernadette Ruelle

Duration of project:39 months (Dec 2005 – Feb 2009)



Generic Theme:2.2: Water supply - Water quality - Ground water protection

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 5 9 PA M E L A

An eco-friendly demolition

of retired aircraft

Official title

Process for Advanced Management of End of Life of Aircraft

Background

With the growing number of retired aircraft – more than 4,000 between 2004 and 2023 – the safe man-agement of their end of life, both in terms of the environment and public health, has become a crucial issue. Usually, aircraft that are more than 30 years old end their life either stored on the airfield or outside the European Union. Spare parts can also be recycled and reintroduced in the market by scrap merchants or small maintenance companies. This latter option poses serious threats to the environment as it is very often conducted in an unsafe manner. Moreover the use of second-hand spare parts may induce consider-able safety risks.

Objectives

Currently, there are no procedures for decommissioning aircraft in safe and environmentally responsible con-ditions. Hence, the project’s objectives are threefold. First, it will demonstrate, by full-scale experimenta-tion on aircrafts, that 85% to 95% of their compo-nents – instead of today’s 60% aluminium recovering, the other materials being eliminated – can be easily recycled, reused or recovered. The project will also set up a new standard for safe and environmentally friendly management of End of Life Aircraft (ELA). It will cover the entire process, from storage at the pre-decommissioning phase, disassembling and dis-mantling, to the recycling or elimination of the materi-als. Finally, the project will launch a European network able to further disseminate the dismantling process.


Name of beneficiaryAIRBUS France

Postal Address316 route de Bayonne - BP M6737 F-31060 Toulouse Cedex 03

FRANCE Phone +33 561 180 865 Fax +33 561 185 136 Email [email protected] http://www.airbus.com

Name of contact personBruno Costes

Duration of project:32 months (March 2005 – Oct 2007)



Generic Theme:4.8: End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV’s) and tyres

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 6 2 g A P

Clean manufacturing of space and

aeronautic panels

Official title

Clean alternative technology to chemical milling: dem-onstration of technical, environmental and economic performance of mechanical milling for the machining of complex shaped panels used in the aeronautical and space industries – GAP (Green Advanced Panels) project

Background

Complex shaped panels used in the aeronautical and space industries are made by chemical milling. This process is frequently used on double-curvature parts requiring weight reduction or in parts made from alloys of titanium, tin, nickel, cobalt and magnesium. The main environmental problem associated with this technology is the large amount of slurry it produces. These slurries are currently disposed for burning in cement kilns. The process also uses large amounts of water and solvents. An environmental alternative to the process would be mechanical milling.

Objectives

DUFIEUX Industrie has made a technological leap in machine tool design that enables complex shaped panels to be mechanically manufactured with the same level of efficiency as chemical milling. In this eco-friendly process, the only by-products are aluminium chips that are recycled as secondary raw material. The project aims to demonstrate the performance of the mechanical milling with the partnership of the Airbus company.


Name of beneficiaryDufieux Industrie

Postal Address4 rue Gaston Monmousseau – BP 227 F-38130 Echirolles

FRANCE Phone +33 476 332 610 Fax +33 476 096 744 Email [email protected] http://www.DUFIEUX-industrie.com

Name of contact personRené Panczuc

Duration of project:29 months (Jan 2005 – June 2007)



Generic Theme:3.1: Clean technologies

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 6 3 I D E A L 7 9

Incentives to reduce municipalities

waste flow

Official title

Ideal Deux-Sèvres: Sustainable Initiatives and Local

Background

With the global increase of waste, municipalities have to regularly upgrade their waste treatment facilities. Despite progress in their performance and increased capacity and services, the impact of waste on the environment remains important.

Objectives

The project aims to reduce the waste flow and its impact on the environment in the Deux Sèvres Depart-ment by setting incentives at different stages of con-sumption to influence the public’s behaviour. This will be done in conjunction with the departmental waste office and socio-economic stakeholders. The project should create a local dynamic and allow to better implement previous actions.


Name of beneficiaryCommunauté d’Agglomération de Niort (CAN)

Postal Address28 Rue Blaise Pascal - BP 193 F-79006 Niort

FRANCE Phone +33 549 787 010 Fax +33 549 240 640 Email [email protected] http://www.agglo-niort.fr

Name of contact personCatherine Julan

Duration of project:40 months (Feb 2005 – June 2008)



Generic Theme:4.1: Municipal waste (including household and commercial)

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 6 7 S O u N D S L u D g E

Reducing sludge by ultrasound

Official title

Upgrading of wastewater treatment plants with ultrasound treatment for reducing the production of sludge

Background

The amount of sludge generated in the EU has increased dramatically, amounting to 9 million tons of dry matter in 2005, compared to 5.5 million tons in 1992. This is mainly the consequence of the im-plementation of the 91/271/EEC Directive on Urban Waste Water Treatment. The sludge can be exploited in agriculture, a solution that the European Commis-sion encourages. But up to now, only 53% of the total amount of sludge has been used as fertiliser. The rea-sons are, in some cases, the poor quality of the sludge in terms of public health and environment or the reluctance of farmers in peri-urban zones or more using intensive practices. The remaining 43% is disposed in landfills or incinerated. Reduction of sludge has therefore become a major issue for Member States.

Objectives

The project will show the technical and economical feasibility of a new technique, based on ultrasound, to reduce the amount of sludge produced in a biological water treatment plant. The experiment will be carried out at full scale, using the total amount of the return sludge stream of a small water treatment plant (6,500 inhabitants/equivalent). The technique is expected to cut the quantity of sludge by at least 30%, therefore reducing the pressure on the environment. It should also notably reduce the amount of pollutants (nitrates and pathogens) in the discharged water. The data obtained will be used to set up a monitoring system allowing the comparison of different scenarios of sludge reduction, treatment and disposal.


Name of beneficiaryCommunauté d’Agglomération Angers Loire Métropole (ALM)

Postal Address83 rue du Mail - BP 80529 F-49105 Angers

FRANCE Phone +33 241 055 105 Fax +33 241 055 075 Email [email protected] http://www.angersloiremetropole.fr

Name of contact personPierre Bocquet

Duration of project:39 months (Oct 2005 – Dec 2008)



Generic Theme:2.3: Waste water treatment

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 6 8 M O N A L I S A

A new identity card for pollen

in the air

Official title

MOnitoring Network of ALlergens by Immuno- SAmpling

Background

According to the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), allergic disease is the most common chronic disease of childhood in EU countries and seasonal allergic rhinitis due to pollen affects up to 35% of the entire population. Having an accurate picture of the allergens in the air is of crucial importance. The current method based on counting pollen grains is not sufficient. A technique monitoring pollen and spore allergen would be much more useful. The monitoring should analyse the antigenicity and/or allergenicity, so as to able to advise the public about the risks of allergy.

Objectives

The main objective of the MONALISA project is to test an innovative air sampler, able to monitor pollen in the air by an on line antigenicity/allergenicity measure-ment. The air sampler is also expected to classify pol-len and other microbiological particles, depending on their allergen load, as well being able to detect both pollen grains and smaller particles. To demonstrate its efficiency, the sampler will be used in seven dif-ferent bio-geographical climates. The final objective is to turn this prototype into a new standard tool to monitor pollen and other small microbiological parti-cles with potential allergenic influence.


Name of beneficiaryBertin Technologies S.A.

Postal AddressAvenue Ampère, 10 bis- BP 284 F-78053 Saint Quentin en Yvelines Cedex

FRANCEPhone +33 1 39306169 Fax +33 1 39306165 Email [email protected] http://www.bertin.fr

Name of contact personAntonin Duval

Duration of project:39 months (Jan 2005 – Apr 2008)



Generic Theme:1.2: Air quality management and noise abatement

L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 7 0 M E T T E

A clean technology for textile

conditioning

Official title

Appropriate Clean Technology: process of electro-magnetic textile ennoblement aiming at to decrease the aqueous pollution

Background

In Europe, the sector of textile ennoblement is one of the biggest consumers of water, as much as 50 million m3/year in France, one of the leaders in this technique. Ennoblement, a three-phase technique for conditioning textiles, uses colouring agents and polluting auxiliary products. These products, present in the waste water, are often poured directly into the environment.

Objectives

The project aims to develop a new technology based on electromagnetic energy. The technique has several environmental advantages. It drastically decreases the amount of water used and, consequently, the energy used for its treatment. It also consumes fewer expen-sive auxiliary products and, finally, discharges only a small amount of water.


Name of beneficiaryAnalysis Measure Pollution (AMP)

Postal Address1, rue Joliot CurieF-80200 Doignt-Flamicourt

FRANCEPhone +33 3 22830997 Fax +33 3 22830636 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personEugène Peenaert

Duration of project:28 months (May 2005 – Sept 2007)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 8 0 R E C L I O N B AT

A new life for lithium ion batteries

Official title

Innovative Pilot unit for Recycling Used Lithium Ion Batteries and recuperate heavy metals

Background

Lithium ion batteries, mainly produced in Asia, are used to power many kinds of electronic equipment, including mobile phones, portable computers, cam-eras and toys. Spent batteries represent a fast-grow-ing stream of waste, totalling 4,000 tons in 2005. This waste includes 1,100 tons of heavy metal, particularly dangerous for health and environment, and 200 tons of toxic electrolytes. At present, there are no fac-tories in continental Europe that have developed an appropriate recycling technology. The components are toxic, corrosive or explosive, posing environmental and safety-related problems, and making transporta-tion and storage difficult.

Objectives

The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the fea-sibility at a pre-industrial scale of a technique, already tested in laboratory, for recycling lithium ion batteries. The project includes the deactivation and separation of the components and the recovery of heavy metals, such as cadmium and nickel. If the project confirms the competitiveness of the technique, the promoter intends to industrialise the process.


Name of beneficiarySociété Nouvelle d’Affinage des Métaux

Postal AddressAvenue Jean Jaurès - BP 4F-12110 Viviez

FRANCEPhone +33 565 437730 Fax +33 565 430395 Email [email protected] http://www.snam.com

Name of contact personPatrick Archier

Duration of project:35 months (May 2005 – March 2008)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 8 2 D I D E M

A climate friendly process for tiles

and bricks

Official title

Demonstration of Innovative Drying Process of Roof-ing Tiles & Bricks Enabling the Recovery and Reuse of Condensation Water Aiming at Reducing Greenhouse Gases Emissions

Background

The EU-wide greenhouse gas allowance trading scheme (ETS), set up since January 2005, is a first step towards the EU’s commitment under the Kyoto pro-tocol to reduce its CO2 emissions by 8%. Under this scheme, Member States have to elaborate national allocation plans for each industrial sector involved. In France, the tile and brick sector has been allocated a limit of CO2 emission of 1.34 million tons/year for the period 2005-2007. This means a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions. One way to achieve this reduction is to improve the drying process, which accounts for 30% of the energy used for the production of the tiles and bricks.

Objectives

The general objective of the project is to reduce by 27-30% the amount of CO2 emitted during the dry-ing process of ceramic terra cotta based products. To achieve this, the project will demonstrate first in the laboratory and then on an industrial scale, the techni-cal, environmental and economical viability of a dry-ing process performed at high temperatures (around 100°C) and with a 100% moisture content. The project will also seek to reduce two other greenhouse gases, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20).


Name of beneficiaryCentre Technique Tuiles et Briques (CTTB)

Postal AddressRue Letellier, 17F-75015 Paris

FRANCEPhone +33 1 45377774 Fax +33 1 45377780 Email [email protected] http://www.cttb.fr

Name of contact personPatrick Perrin

Duration of project:39 months (Nov 2005 – Jan 2009)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / F / 0 0 0 0 8 3 g E A M C O S

Green electronics for the aeronautic

and military sectors

Official title

Project of clean technologies setting up the develop-ment of Green Electronics in Aeronautical and Military Communication Systems

Background

The use of lead in electronic equipment will be banned by the 1st of July 2006, as laid down by Directive 2002/96/EC on Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and Directive 2002/96/EC on the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). This ban will have a particular impact on the aeronautical and military sectors, as the equipment they use has to respond to specific requirements, such as reliability, security and maintainability. The alternatives already proposed for consumer electronics are therefore not always appropriate.

Objectives

EADS is developing a demonstrator using a clean technology of lead-free soldering, able to stand up to harsh environments. The technique, using new alloys, will allow the recycling and reuse of the material. It will be transferable to other sectors who wish to increase the durability of their equipment.


Name of beneficiaryEADS CCR, Suresnes

Postal Address37, boulevard de MontmorencyF-75781 Paris

FRANCEPhone +33 1 46973486 Fax +33 1 46973008 Email [email protected] http://www.eads.com

Name of contact personIsabelle Lombaert-Valot

Duration of project:42 months (Sept 2005 – Feb 2009)



Generic Theme:3.1. Clean technologies

L I F E 0 5 E N V / D / 0 0 0 1 8 2 WA g R I C O

Tackling water pollution

in Lower Saxony

Official title

Water Resources Management in Cooperation with Agriculture. Compilation and Implementation of Integrative Programmes of Measures According to the WFD to Reduce Diffuse Pollution from Agriculture

Background

Lower Saxony is an important agriculture zone. The intense use of fertilisers and pesticides leads to a high level of pollution of groundwater. In some areas, the concentration of nitrate can reach 200 mg/l. These diffuse emissions mean that 60% of groundwater in Lower Saxony is polluted and urgent action is needed to bring it into line with the European Water Frame-work Directive.

Objectives

The project aims to set up new participation meth-ods and technologies to reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture and to promote sustainable water resource management. It will demonstrate how the policy objectives of the Sixth Environment Action Programme can be achieved through cooperative action at the local river catchments and farm level. It will subse-quently show how agricultural assistance programmes can be amended to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and that synergy actions can be used to increase cost-efficiency.


Name of beneficiaryNiedersächsischer Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz (NLWKN)

Postal AddressAm Sportplatz 23D-26506 Norden

GERMANYPhone +49 4931 947230 Fax +49 4931 947125 Email [email protected] http://www.nlwkn.de

Name of contact personBernhard Ohlrogge

Duration of project:36 months (Oct 2005 – Sept 2008)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / D / 0 0 0 1 8 5 I N O C A S T

An eco-friendly production

of engine blocks

Official title

Demonstration of environmentally friendly aluminium engine block Core Packaging Casting (CPS) using an inorganic binder

Background

In Europe, 98% of all cylinder heads and 50% of en-gine blocks are currently made of aluminium. Hydro engine blocks are cast in a standard process using sodium silicate (quartz sand) cores. These cores are held together by an organic binder based on a phe-nol resin. This technique produces quite a high level of emissions, deposits of spent core sand, filters and waste water. There is a need to demonstrate that the AWB (“Inorganic Warm-Box”) process is an alterna-tive to cold-box techniques used by most foundries. Currently, this new process has been refused by auto-mobile manufacturer because of a lack of prototypes which can be quality tested.

Objectives

The project will show the environmental and technical effectiveness of a new inorganic binder for core pack-age system (CPS) of aluminium engine blocks. The binder will be used together with Minsand ® to build core moulds which can be mechanically de-cored and do not need air-cleaning facilities. This “Inorganic Warm-Box” process (AWB) should reduce the current energy consumption by 30% and substantially reduce emissions, deposits and waste water. The project part-ner Audi will perform comprehensive quality tests on complete AWB engines.


Name of beneficiaryHydro Alucast GmbH

Postal AddressMarie-Curie Strasse 1367D-66763 Dillingen

GERMANYPhone +49 68 31906 252 Fax +49 68 31906 0138 Email [email protected] http://www.hydro.com/en

Name of contact personJoachim Kahn





L I F E 0 5 E N V / D / 0 0 0 1 9 3 S L u D g E R E D O x

Biogas from industrial sewage

sludge

Official title

Transfer of the organic constituents of sewage sludge into a soluble form for an efficient production of biogas

Background

Because of its toxicity, sewage sludge from the chemi-cal industry cannot be used in agriculture as fertiliser. Nor can it be used for the production of biogas due to the fact that it slows down the chemical reaction. Since the disposal of sewage sludge in landfills is pro-hibited in Germany, the chemical company Bayer has to incinerate all the accumulated sewage sludge. The ashes remaining after incineration are disposed in the in-plant hazardous waste site. The main disadvantage of this technique is the emission of a large amount of CO2. Besides this environmental concern, Bayer does not have unlimited incineration capacities and therefore plans to reduce the amount of sludge to be burned.

Objectives

The demonstration project aims to transfer the or-ganic constituents of sewage sludge into a soluble form able to produce biogas. The process includes alkaline hydrolysis, ozonolysis and a subsequent inno-vative anaerobic treatment. The production of biogas has a twofold advantage: it generates energy from a renewable resource and also reduces significantly the amount of sewage sludge that has to be incinerated. This, in turn, will reduce the amount of CO2 emis-sions. The new process will be installed at the waste water plant of Leverkusen.


Name of beneficiaryBayer Industry Services GmbH + Co OHG

Postal AddressKaiser-Wilhelm-Allee 1D-51368 Leverkusen

GERMANYPhone +49 214 3057479 Fax +49 214 3071130 Email [email protected] http://www.bayerindustry.com

Name of contact personFritz Bremer

Duration of project:27 months (July 2005 – Sept 2007)



Generic Theme:4.2. Industrial waste (including manufacturing)

L I F E 0 5 E N V / D / 0 0 0 1 9 5 S u P E RW O O L

Halogen-free production of wool

yarns

Official title

Sustainable, AOX-free Superwash Finishing of Wool Tops for the Yarn Production

Background

Approximately 75% of machine-washable wool is treated by the so-called Chlorine-Hercosett-Proc-ess. The process, which guarantees the felt-free superwash standard, works on the basis of chlorina-tion and subsequent coating of the fibre material with a polyaminoamide. The process uses large amount of water as well as dangerous substances. This leads to a substantial pollution of waste water with organic halogen compounds (AOX).

Objectives

The project aims to replace the current Chlorine- Hercosett-Process by a sustainable pre-treatment of wool using plasma. Already achieved at a R&D scale, the process still needs to be improved, particularly concern-ing the electrode systems to ensure a reproducible treat-ment of wool fibres. Additionally, a suitable resin has to be selected to assure the anti-felt property of yarn.


Name of beneficiaryRichter Kammgarn GmbH

Postal AddressD-35260 Stadallendorf

GERMANYPhone +49 6428 705155 Fax +49 6428 708308 Email [email protected] http://www.richter-kammgarn.de

Name of contact personPeter Vormbruck

Duration of project:41 months (Sept 2005 – Jan 2009)





Name of beneficiaryFraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

Postal AddressHansastrasse, 27c D-80686 München

GERMANYPhone +49 89 12052713 Fax +49 89 12057534 Email [email protected] http://www.life-leadfree.de

Name of contact personWalter Krause

Duration of project:36 months (Apr 2005 – Apr 2008)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / D / 0 0 0 1 9 7 L E A D F R E E

Training manufacturers in green

electronics

Official title

Demonstration and Training Lead Free Soldering for European Industry in Order to Promote Environmental Friendly Electronic Production

Background

The use of lead as solder in electronic equipment will be banned as of the 1st of July 2006, as laid down by Directive 2002/96/EC on Waste of Electrical and Elec-tronic Equipment (WEEE). The process of lead-free soldering is technically feasible but still needs to be further developed for general applications.

Objectives

The project, LEADFREE, aims to guide a minimum of 300 electronics SMEs in manufacturing competitive green electronic products. The project will set up and run a training centre at the premises of the Fraun-hofer Institute of Silicon Technology - ISIT- in Itzehoe, Germany, for a three year period. Participants will be trained on a complete demonstration production line equipped with innovative technologies for the indus-trial scale soldering of components on printed circuit boards. LEADFREE will operate for the first time a complete demonstration process in line with the Euro-pean Integrated Production Policy (IPP) based on the whole life cycle of the product.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / D / 0 0 0 2 0 7 H V D

Avoiding chemicals in steel

production

Official title

Hydro-Mechanical Descaling Process based on High-Pressure Vacuum Technology Using Scales as Abrasive Blast Medium

Background

For decades, the finishing (descaling) of steel plate manufacturing has been performed using a complex chemical process. The scales left after first welding the steel strips together are pre-crushed and then dissolved using hot hydrochloric and sulphuric acid. Handling of hot mineral acids results in noxious contamination indoors. The process also uses large amounts of water for rinsing and cooling. A physical alternative to this heave-polluting chemical process has already been studied in an EC financed project (EUR21130) carried out in 1998-2001.

Objectives

The project will demonstrate the feasibility of the results of this previous EC. The technique to be used involves blasting abrasive particles onto the material under high pressure water jets. The scale itself is used as abrasive material. The resulting water-scale suspen-sion is then sucked-off. After descaling, particles and water are separated and can be reused.


Name of beneficiaryAimatic GmbH, Hemer

Postal AddressHauptstrasse 289 D-58675 Hemer

GERMANYPhone +49 2732 500516 Fax +49 2732 500525 Email [email protected] http://www.airmatic-systeme.de

Name of contact personHubert Schulte

Duration of project:42 months (Dec 2005 – May 2009)


EC contribution in euro with %:536,100.00 (28.11.%)



Name of beneficiaryTechnological Education Institute of West Macedonia

Postal AddressKoila – KozanisPO Box 293GR-50 100 Kozani

GREECEPhone +30 24610 25996Fax +30 24610 39682Email [email protected]: http://www.teikoz.gr

Name of contact personStergios Ganatsios

Duration of project:42 months (Oct 2005 – March 2009)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / g R / 0 0 0 2 1 4 S M A Q

Accurate assessment

of atmospheric pollution loading

Official title

Satellite-assisted Management of Air Quality

Background

The accurate assessment of the atmospheric pollution loading in European regions is necessary to comply with EU atmospheric pollution legislation (Frame-work Directive 96/62/EC and its daughter directives). This need becomes all the more pressing in view of recent policy developments at Community level, in particular the Environment and Health Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Countering Climate Change. An objective and scientifically rigorous method for air pollution assessment should be the basis for cost- effective pollution abatement strategies, and would contribute directly to the Thematic Strategy for Air Pollution by 2006.

Objectives

Through networked information and communications technology, the project seeks to help minimise uncer-tainties in decision-making on operational air pollution control and abatement in the urban environment, as well as to enhance coherence in trans-boundary en-vironmental monitoring. Project implementation will be based on:

• the integration and assimilation of environmental data from different sources (including data from satellite-based remote sensing and ground-based air quality measurements);

• the sharing of the knowledge acquired through environmental data fusion among urban policy-makers and concerned stakeholders; and

• decision-making support for air quality manage-ment at urban and trans-boundary levels, based on multi-criteria analysis and interactive optimisation.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / g R / 0 0 0 2 3 5 S u S C O N

Sustainable construction approach

for Greece and Cyprus

Official title

Sustainable Construction in Public and Private Works through IPP approach

Background

The construction sector in Europe consumes more raw materials by weight than any other industrial sector in Europe. Moreover, it accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gases emissions (about 40%). Measured in terms of weight, construction and demolition activi-ties produce Europe’s largest waste stream (between 40 and 50% of total waste streams), most of which though, is recyclable. Sustainable construction is thus vital in the European context.

Objectives

The main objective of SUSCON is the adoption of a “sustainable construction” concept that could be applied by construction industries, engineering con-sulting companies, public authorities and suppliers of construction materials. More specifically, the project includes:

• the establishment of an Advisory Board composed of different stakeholders;

• the environmental impact assessment of construc-tion activities in Greece and Cyprus;

• the implementation of the Life Cycle Analysis in, e.g., public building construction;

• the assessment of all the issues related to eco-de-sign criteria;

• the production of a software tool evaluating the eco-friendly percentage of construction works;

• the evaluation of the environmental performance of participating companies;

• the creation of an online database for the construc-tion industry; and

• the dissemination of the results to national and Eu-ropean stakeholders.


Name of beneficiaryNational Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering

Postal Address42, Patission Avenue - Po Box 68 GR-10682 Athens

GREECEPhone +30 210 7723106 Fax +30 210 7723285 Email [email protected] http://www.chemeng.ntua.gr

Name of contact personMaria Loizidou




Generic Theme:5.4: Sustainable building

A greener future for Elefsina BayElefsina Bay

Official title

Collaborative Environmental Regeneration of Port-Cities: Elefsina Bay 2020

Background

Elefsina Bay, a medium-sized port, is one of the most industrialised and environmentally degraded areas in Greece. The quality of life and economic develop-ment in the bay’s communities suffer from pollution and hazards from port and industrial activities, as well as from an uncontrolled urbanisation that has limited communal spaces and constrained access to the sea. The situation in Elefsina is typical of many other in-dustrial port and urban areas in Greece, South-eastern Europe and the EU in general.

Objectives

The proposed project seeks to demonstrate that the regeneration of such areas is possible, if a dedicated investment in civic infrastructure takes place and the collaborative action of stakeholders is achieved.

The project will establish a collaborative approach to the integrated socio-environmental regeneration of the urban agglomeration of the Bay of Elefsina. This will involve enhancing civic infrastructure, capacity-building measures for local authorities and the commu-nity, improving the port’s environmental performance by adapting and implementing the LIFE ECOPORT project’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) guidelines, as well as awareness-raising activities.

The project seeks to apply, develop and disseminate a state of the art social technology called ‘deliberative community visioning’, which supports participatory processes in line with the EC’s Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment.


Name of beneficiaryElefsina Port Authority SA

Postal AddressElefsina Port Authority SA Postal address 24 Dragoumi Street24 Dragoumi StreetGR-19200 Elefsina

GREECEPhone +30 210 5543755Fax +30 210 5545965Email [email protected]

Name of contact personAthanasios Bourantas

Duration of project:38 months (Oct 2005 – Nov 2008)



Generic Theme:3.2: Integrated environmental management

L I F E 0 5 E N V / g R / 0 0 0 2 4 2 E L E F S I N A 2 0 2 0

L I F E 0 5 E N V / g R / 0 0 0 2 4 5 E N V I F R I E N D LY

A sustainable management plan

for the Evrotas river basin

Official title

Environmentally Friendly Technologies for Rural Development

Background

The Evrotas river basin in Greece is a predominantly rural area with an ageing population. The watershed is considered as a “less favoured area” due to its moun-tainous terrain and the danger of depopulation. The watershed suffers from over-use of river water, mean-ing that the river can sometimes dry up completely. The area also suffers from high levels of pollution, in particular from agriculture (for example, pesticides in soil and water). To date, no studies have been con-ducted under the National Action Plan to allow the establishment of a management plan of the water-shed area.

Objectives

The objective of the project is to integrate the results of environment-friendly technologies and socio-eco-nomic factors in an integrated management plan for the Evrotas River watershed and coastal zone. The project will produce a “toolbox” of environment-friendly technologies able to minimise diffuse pollu-tion originating from agricultural land. The measures proposed include the installation of stations and wells allowing the identification, quantification and moni-toring of pollution loads in the watershed. The project will also install and test three prototype treatment units to treat wastewater and solid waste from local olive and orange production. The project aims to lead to direct positive impacts on the environment, such as a 60-80% reduction of nitrate loads from groundwa-ter to drainage canals. Hydrological and geochemical analysis will allow the generation of watershed and coastal zone modelling. The project will use the results of these activities, plus a socio-economic survey, to develop an integrated watershed management plan. Finally, a Local Development Observatory will be established, and should become the region’s water management centre, responsible for the implementa-tion of the Water Framework Directive.


Name of beneficiaryPrefecture of Laconia

Postal AddressOthonos Amalias 85GR-23100 Sparti

GREECEPhone +30 273 1026118 Fax +30 273 1026118 Email [email protected] http://www.na-lakonias.gr

Name of contact personDimitros Liakakos




Generic Theme:1.3: Sensitive area management (coastal, protected)

L I F E 0 5 E N V / H / 0 0 0 4 1 8 S u M A N A S

Managing arsenic in groundwater

Official title

Sustainable management and treatment of arsenic bearing groundwater in Southern Hungary

Background

Groundwater pollution by arsenic and associated components is a common problem in the entire Carpathian Basin. Where arsenic in groundwater is concerned, Hungary is the most seriously affected of the EU and accession states. Approximately 400 towns and villages in Hungary have arsenic levels greatly exceeding those set by EU and WHO guidelines. Within the project area, 170,000 people are supplied with drinking water derived from groundwater which contains arsenic levels 30 times higher than specified by EU norms, as well as variable amounts of methane, ammonia, iron and manganese.

The EU has determined that that water quality must be in line with EU norms by 2009.

Objectives

The project’s first objective is to create a groundwa-ter-management decision-support system, based on hydro-geological models, local needs analysis, cost aspects and best practices. Using the Gyula region of Hungary as its main test site, the project will develop a management plan for Southern Hungarian regions with high arsenic contents in groundwater. The sec-ond objective is to demonstrate an innovative arsenic-removal technology which can treat the groundwater types of Southern Hungary. Finally, the project will seek to disseminate the methodology and technol-ogy to other regions in the EU, as well as in accession countries.


Name of beneficiaryKörös-vidéki örnyezetvédelmi és Vizügyi Igazgatóság (The Körös Valley District Environmental-protection and Water Directorate)

Postal AddressKörkövizig Varoshaz u. 26 HU-5700 Gyula

HUNGARYPhone +36 66 526400 Fax +36 66 526407 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personLaszlo Réti

Duration of project:36 months (Nov 2005 – Nov 2008)


EC contribution in euro with %:808,514.00 € (48.76%)

Generic Theme:2.2: Water supply - Water quality - Ground water protection


Name of beneficiaryGalway Mayo Institute of Technology, GMIT (Engineering School)

Postal AddressDublin RoadIRL-Galway

IRELANDPhone +353 91 742241 Fax +353 91 758413 Email [email protected] http://www.gmit.ie

Name of contact personGerard Macmichael

Duration of project:28 months (Oct 2005 – Jan 2008)


EC contribution in euro with %: 464,500.00 (49.73%)


L I F E 0 5 E N V / I R L / 0 0 0 5 0 0 D FA u TO

Vehicle towards better compliance

Official title

Design for Environmental Compliance in the Automo-tive Supply Chain

Background

An estimated 8.5 million vehicles are discarded every year in the EU, with the number expected to double by 2015. This currently results in around 8 million tonnes of waste yearly, which is generally contaminated with heavy metals, and oil and other lubricating fluids.

However, both the EC Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) and the Directive on Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are forcing the automo-tive and electronics sectors to take responsibility for the safe end-of-life disposal of their products. For instance, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) selling in or to Europe are required to achieve an increase in the rate of ELV parts’ re-use and recovery of 85% by 2006.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to develop a dem-onstration tool for designing components and sub- assemblies in the automotive sector that incorporates environmental compliance requirements, particular-ly with respect to the End-of-life Vehicles Directive. The tool will be integrable with most common design and manufacturing management systems. It will pro-vide an automated advisor to design-engineers across the supply chains, enabling them to optimise legisla-tive compliance.

It is expected that during the project, 10 suppliers in Ireland will use the tool to design products with a recy-clability of materials of over 90%. Thereby, the project will prove the environmental, technical and econom-ic benefits of the system for the targeted industrial sectors in Europe.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / I R L / 0 0 0 5 0 1 T Y R E / W O O D B L O C K

Retiring tyres

Official title

Manufacture of Composite Pallet Blocks using Waste Wood and Tyre Derived Materials

Background

A major part of the 2,700,000 or so used tyres gener-ated in Europe in 2002 was disposed of in landfills. However, the EU Landfill Directive now bans the land-filling of whole tyres, and will ban most shredded tyres from landfills by 2006. In addition, the EU End-of-Life Vehicle Directive requires original equipment manu-facturers (OEMs) to ensure that vehicles are 95% recyclable by 2015.

A further issue addressed by the project is the sig-nificant amount of waste sawdust and wood shav-ings that is generated by Europe’s timber processing industry, along with the Europe-wide efforts to achieve higher recycling rates for various packaging materials, including wood.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to demonstrate the environmental and competitive benefits of a pallet block that re-uses tyre-derived waste materials in combination with sawmilling residues and woodchip from discarded pallets.

A small-scale pilot process to determine the system’s basic design parameters will be followed by a full-scale demonstration system. This is expected to put 300,000 pallets into service during the project’s implementa-tion. Over 5,000 tons of recycled tyre-derived waste will be incorporated, as well as a significantly greater tonnage of timber residues.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiarySmall and medium-sized company

Name of beneficiaryMid-Cork Pallets and Packaging (MCP)

Postal AddressClondrohidIRL-Macroom, Co. Cork

IRELANDPhone +353 26 41311 Fax +353 26 42278 Email [email protected] http://www.midcorkpallets.com

Name of contact personSean Lehane

Duration of project:40 months (Oct 2005 – Jan 2009)



Generic Theme:5.1: Eco-friendly products - Eco-design - Green financial products


Name of beneficiaryDuferco Italia Holding SpA.uferco Italia Holding SpA.

Postal AddressVia Cantonale, 8 CH-6900 Lugano

SWITZERLANDPhone +41 91 911 5665 Fax +41 91 911 5963 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personPiersandro Lombardi

Duration of project:34 months (Feb 2005 – Dec 2007)



Generic Theme:1.2. Air quality management and noise abatement

L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 0 1 B I O C O A L

Innovative biomass cogeneration

process

Official title

Biocharbased co-generation alternative

Background

In 2001, biomass accounted for nearly 4% of the total primary energy consumption in the EU. Half of the biomass used consists of wood or wood chips. For economic reasons, biomass is generally burned in large power stations. As biomass is not often avail-able in large quantities, it is frequently burned in com-bination with other fuels, such as coal. Co-firing of biomass in conventional power plants is technically feasible but quite costly. Another major impediment to the widespread use of biomass in co-firing is its low energy density in terms of volume, which makes it uneconomical to transport for long distances. One way to overcome this difficulty is to transform bio-mass into gaseous, liquid or solid fuel.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate that energy genera-tion based on the Flash Carbonisation technology – a way to convert biomass in a solid fuel - is environ-mentally sustainable, safe and economically viable. This innovative technology will be used in a small co-generation plant for the mixed combustion of Biochar agglomerate (made of wood) and wood. It will validate the feasibility of safe storage, handling and transport of Biochar and the economical benefit of energy production based on Biochar.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 0 8 I D E M S

A new environmental urban plan

Official title

Integration and Development of Environmental Management Systems

Background

Environmental management has become a prior-ity for municipalities. Currently, they have essentially three tools at their disposition: Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), City and Local Environmental Accounting and Reporting (CLEAR) and ecoBudget. While each has a specific scope, they also have over-lapping areas. Moreover, the European Commission, working on the new Strategy for the Urban Environ-ment, is stating the importance of a comprehensive plan in order to tackle environmental issues in an integrated manner. Such a plan requires an adequate environmental management system and, starting from the expertise collected during the last years, the best way would be to start from the existing systems and developed them towards an integrated framework.

Objectives

The project innovatively proposes to integrate the three tools existing in environmental management, accountability and budgeting, namely EMAS, CLEAR and ecoBudget. The project would be an important contribution to the Urban Environmental Manage-ment Plan proposed by the European Commission in its Communication “Towards a Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment”. The integrated system should address some well-known environmental issues, such as integrating environmental concerns in the internal decisional process and adapting new methods for the private sector as distinct from the public sector. The project will enhance the quality of environmental themes such as public transport plan-ning, private transportation management and waste management.


Name of beneficiaryComune di Ravenna

Postal AddressP.le Farini, 21 I-48100 Ravenna

ITALYPhone +39 0544482266 Fax +39 0544482250 Email [email protected] http://www.comune.ra.it

Name of contact personLuana Gasparini

Duration of project:32 months (Oct 2005 – May 2008)



Generic Theme:3.2: Integrated environmental management

L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 1 2 R I WA C

Recovering chrome from tannery

waste

Official title

Project for recovery and reuse of industrial waters and trivalent chromium generated by tannery waste processing

Background

In Europe, tannery industrial waters are currently discharged directly to wastewater treatment plants. However, some components in the waste could be recovered for destruction or recycling, in particular ammonia, calcium sulphate and chrome. In Italy, most of the chrome-containing waste is used in ag-riculture as organic fertilizer, but no chrome recovery is performed.

Objectives

The innovation of the project lies in the fact that it combines two processes: destruction and recovery. The project aims first at purifying the tannery waste-water by destroying ammonia and converting it to nitrogen through a thermal catalytic system. Chrome and calcium sulphate will subsequently be recovered from the sludge.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiarySmall and medium sized enterprisemall and medium sized enterprise

Name of beneficiarySICIT 2000 S.p.A.

Postal AddressVia del Lavoro, 114 I-36071 Arzignano

ITALYPhone +39 0444 450946 Fax +39 0444 453812 Email [email protected] http://www.sicit2000.it

Name of contact personMassimo Neresini





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 3 9 C - D I S PAT C H

Sustainable distribution of goods

Official title

Clean-Distribution of goods in Specimen Areas at the last mile of the intermodal Transport Chain

Background

An efficient and sustainable urban freight manage-ment is one of the priorities for the European sustain-able transport policy. Though a number of feasibility and pre-feasibility studies on sustainable urban freight management exist, they are not supported by actions and experiences. Today, the few existing initiatives in Italy (i.e. Vicenza, Padova, Ferrara, Parma) are in their preliminary phase.

Objectives

The project aims to develop a city logistic system including a tool for an integrated planning and con-trol of sustainable production and transport processes. The key objective is to provide a sustainable business model for improving the efficiency of door-to-door goods transport in urban areas by providing supply and demand side information in one single environ-ment-friendly system. The aim is to reach a reduction of 14% of commercial vehicle traffic flow, resulting in a decrease of about 10% of their gas emissions and 30% of noise emissions. Quality of life indices will be measured by ex-ante and ex-post surveys of citizens living in the pilot area.


Name of beneficiaryFrosinone Province

Postal AddressPiazza Gramsci 13 I-03100 Frosinone

ITALYPhone +39 0775219461 Fax +39 0775210902 Email [email protected] http://www.provincia.fr.it

Name of contact personNicoletta PANICCIA




Generic Theme:1.1: Urban design - Quality of life - Transport planning

L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 4 5 T I R S AV P L u S

Recycling oil mills waste

Official title

New technologies for husks and waste water recy-cling plus

Background

According to the International Olive Council, Europe produces annually 10 million tons of pomaces (pulp) and vegetation wastewater from the processing of olive oil. The problem resides not only in the diffi-culties of disposing of dangerous wastes, but also in the management of the production units, usually SME oil mills.

Objectives

Building on the results of a previous LIFE project (LIFE 00 ENV/IT/000223 TIRSAV), the new project will address the issue of cost-effectiveness of an innova-tive technology at oil-mill level through the planning and construction of a centralised recycling plant. The unit will also be able to recycle other organic wastes to produce organic fertilisers that are easy to use and acceptable for farmers. Finally, the project will pro-mote the harmonisation of legislation at European level regarding the oil-mill wastes.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryPark – Reserve Authority

Name of beneficiaryEnte Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano

Postal AddressVia Filippo Palumbo, 16 I - 84078 Vallo della Lucania (SA)

ITALYPhone +39 0974 7199200 Fax +39 0974 7199217 Email [email protected] http://www.pncvd.it

Name of contact personAntonio Feola





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 4 6 B AT T L E

Encouraging water reuse in textile

SMEs

Official title

Best Available Technique for water reuse in TextiLE SMEs

Background

The main impact of the textile sector on the environ-ment is related to primary water consumption (80-100 m3/ton of finished textile) and wastewater discharge, characterised by large amounts of organic chemi-cals and colouring agents, low biodegradability and high salinity. Currently, no company implements an integrated full-scale recovery of effluents for reuse in production, notwithstanding the fact that several suc-cessful research projects and pilot experiences have en-couraged it. Moreover, SMEs do not reuse their water but still use fresh high quality water in all the produc-tion processes. According to the IPPC Directive, the best available technologies (BATs) for the textile sector described in the reference document BREF, should be implemented by all big companies and by SMEs with a production capacity of over 10 tons/day. The textile BREF contains several BATs for production processes, but only general advice on wastewater treatment and reuse.

Objectives

The project aims to configure and apply a new BAT for low impact water management in the textile industry. Feasibility and efficiency of the BAT will be shown in a representative medium-sized textile finish-ing enterprise, Stamperia di Martinengo. The new BAT proposed aims at designing innovative water schemes for effluent reuse. This design will be obtained by the application of a methodology which integrates the different aspects involved in reuse (on-line characteri-sation, stream segregation, final effluent treatability evaluation and impact control, reclaimed water reus-ability and costs analysis).

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryNational Authority

Name of beneficiaryEnte Nazionale per le Nuove tecnologie, l’Energie e l’Ambiente (ENEA)

Postal AddressS.P. Anguillarese 301 - S. Maria di Galeria I-00060 ROMA

ITALYPhone +39 06 30484702 Fax +39 06 30486695 Email [email protected] http://www.enea.it

Name of contact personMaurizio Casarci

Duration of project:36 months (Dec 2005 – Nov 2008)


EC contribution in euro with %: 965,899.00 (46.99%)


L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 6 8 P E R B I O F

Official title

A new technology for treating municipal and/or industrial wastewater with low environmental impact

Background

Waste water treatment plants face recurrent problems such as sludge production and the toxicity of treated effluents. Technological solutions have already been tested at research scale with significant results, par-ticularly in terms of sludge production. When the technology was applied to municipal wastewater, the results showed a drastic reduction of organic load. The process also managed to remove a high percentage (nearly 90%) of suspended solids, leaving a negligible volume of sludge.

Objectives

The project aims to develop at demonstration scale an innovative technology for treating municipal and/or industrial wastewater. The following results are expected: a greater conversion capacity (up to 6-10 times) and lower reaction volumes (this means smaller plants with lower environmental impact); a reduction of sludge production by up to 10 times in the case of municipal wastewater and up to 40 times for tan-nery wastewater; a 50% reduction in treated effluent toxicity; and finally, a 40% saving of operative costs, increasing the competitiveness of potential industrial stakeholders (even SMEs) that will adopt such a new technology.

Reducing the environmental

impact of water treatment plants


Name of beneficiaryIstituto di Ricerca sulle Acque (IRSA) - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Postal AddressVia Reno, 1 I-00198 Roma

ITALYPhone +39 08 05820550 Fax +39 08 05313365 Email [email protected] http://www.irsa.rm.cnr.it

Name of contact personAntonio Lopez





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 7 0 C E D M

A Centre for Eco-Friendly City

Freight Distribution

Official title

Centre for Eco-Friendly City Freight Distribution

Background

In the last ten years, major efforts have been carried out by European cities to tackle traffic congestion and related pollution. Access restriction to city centers has become a common practice based on specific trans-port schemes and innovative infrastructure. Howev-er, no such effort has been paid to the urban goods distribution process which is one of the major sources of energy consumption, noxious gas emissions and noise levels in urban areas. The main reason for this lack is the multiplicity of actors involved in the process.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to implement a number of measures (at regulatory, organisational and techno-logical levels) to launch the Center for Eco-Friendly City Freight Distribution in the historical centre of Lucca. These measures will be based on city logistics schemes integrated in the broader context of mobil-ity and transport measures. This will allow Lucca to achieve high standards of energy efficiency and envi-ronmental quality, thereby acting as a model for other European cities. The project will demonstrate innova-tive models focusing on the cooperation of the differ-ent actors within the logistics chain, such as freight transport operators, eco-friendly fleets for city deliver-ies, local authorities and mobility operators.


Name of beneficiaryLUCCA Municipality – Environment Safeguard Sector

Postal AddressVia S.Giustina 6 I-55100 Lucca

ITALYPhone +39 0583 442104 / +39 0583 44239 Fax +39 0583 442402 Email [email protected] http://www.comune.lucca.it

Name of contact personMauro di Bugno

Duration of project:30 months (Nov 2005 – Apr 2008)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 7 4 g H E R L

CO2 reduction from landfills

Official title

Greenhouse effect reduction from landfill gas

Background

Solid waste disposal on land, accounts for about 2.4% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. The two main gases emitted are carbon dioxide (CO2) and meth-ane (CH4) due to the biodegradation of carbon com-pounds by anaerobic methanogenic bacteria. The rate of CO2 and CH4 emission increases with the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfills.

Objectives

The main objective of the project is to reduce the greenhouse effect resulting from biogas emissions from a municipal solid waste landfill. The reduction will be achieved by means of CO2 capture from land-fill gas in a final stable and solid form. This final solid compound can be a simple scrap, which can then be disposed in the landfill itself. It could also be a product used as input in the chemical industry or agriculture.


Name of beneficiaryDipartimento di Energetica “Sergio Stecco” – Università degli Studi di Firenze

Postal AddressVia Santa Marta, 3 I-50139 Firenze

ITALYPhone +39 055 4796349 Fax +39 055 4796342 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personEnnio Carnevale





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 7 5 P. S . V.

Official title

Polishing Sludge Valorisation

Background

The production of fire-clay in Europe and in the rest of the world is developing exponentially, leading to equally huge amounts of waste. Polishing of ceramic and stone materials is a wet process which produces great quantity of sludge. The sludge is not reusable and is currently disposed of in landfills. The coopera-tive Ceramica d’Imola has carried out research in order to develop new products using the sludge. These new products could be used in buildings as an effective barrier against thermal and acoustic transmission and even against electromagnetic fields.

Objectives

The project aims to implement a clean process for recycling and on-site valorisation of the sludge com-ing from polishing and/or smoothing of ceramic and similar materials such as marble and granite. It will demonstrate an innovative process using the abrasive powders (SiC) as expanding agents active at high tem-perature. The product will be an innovative insulated-refractory material to be used for building or industrial installations.

Recycling ceramic polishing sludge


Name of beneficiaryCooperativa Ceramica d’Imola Soc. Coop. a r.l., Imolaooperativa Ceramica d’Imola Soc. Coop. a r.l., ImolaCoop. a r.l., Imola

Postal AddressVia Vittorio Veneto, n°13 I-40026 IMOLA


Name of contact personBilli Franco





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 7 6 N O T R E

Reducing greenhouse gases

in the cooling process

Official title

Novel Technology to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Background

In the refrigeration sector, the control of temperature and relative air humidity during storage and trans-port of goods, consumes large amounts of energy. In fact, when applying best available technologies (BATs) to control temperature and relative humidity of air, important amounts of electrical energy is needed because water vapour in air causes ice formation on the cold surfaces of evaporators (typically at –25°C) which lowers their efficiency and forces to use expensive defrosting cycles. As food transport accounts for 3 to 4 % of EU total CO2 emissions, new efforts are made to improve the energy performance of equipment and to develop new refrigerants with lower environmental impact.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate the environmen-tal, technical and economic viability of a technology able to minimise the formation of ice on evaporator surfaces of traditional vapour compression refrig-eration cycles in refrigerated trucks and storage cells. It will assess the reduction of CO2 emissions, due to less electrical energy used, of refrigerants due to the higher efficiency of evaporators and the reduction of electrical energy used by BAT-refrigeration equipment. The Results will be disseminated among EU universi-ties, major industries and industrial associations.


Name of beneficiaryGVS S.p.A.

Postal AddressVia Roma, 50 I-40069 Zola Predosa, Bologna

ITALYPhone +39 051 6176321 Fax +39 051 6176200 Email [email protected] http://www.gvs.com

Name of contact personGaeta Soccorso





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 8 9 4 E S T R u S

Sustainable treatment of urban

stormwater

Official title

ENhanced and SUstainable TReatment for URban Stormwater

Background

Pollution resulting from storm water runoff in urban areas has been identified as one of the major causes of the deterioration of the quality of water collected. The first flush rain is the most polluted. First flush detention tanks have been successfully tested but the system presents some problems not easy to be solved, such as the availability of space. In addition, the system requires very sophisticated numerical models. Distrib-uted Treatment Solutions (DTSs) have been recently proposed as an alternative. Pollutants are removed from storm water by trapping them directly in the gully-hole or the initial pipe of the drainage network by means of appropriate hydraulic and/or chemical/physical devices. This last solution is quite promising and cost-effective, although full-scale applications are still scarce and validation of the technology will re-quire further testing.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate the sustainabil-ity and cost-effectiveness of Distributed Treatment Solutions (DTSs) for storm water runoff in harbour infrastructures and industrial sites. In these areas, tradi-tional treatment solutions, such as first flush detention tanks, are too costly or unfeasible due to lack of space. The innovative component of the ESTRUS project consists of a full-scale treatment solution (hydraulic and chemical/physical) which has been so far tested in laboratory.


Name of beneficiaryComune di Genova-Assessorato alle Politiche Ambientali

Postal AddressVia di Francia 1 I-16149 Genova

ITALYPhone +39 010 5573237 Fax +39 010 5572380 Email [email protected] http://www.comune.genova.it

Name of contact personVittoria Sivero




Generic Theme:2.3. Waste water treatment

L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 9 0 7 E C O B u L L - N O S E

Cleaner polishing of ceramic strips

Official title

Abrasive-abraded sludge transformation into “abrading paste”, to be re-inserted in the bull-nose manufacturing cycle, by means of an innovative, self-feeding and environmental-friendly “polymeric passive wheel” system

Background

The polishing of skirting boards or ceramic strips to complete flooring or wall covering produces large amount of sludge. The sludge is a mixture of abrasive particles (diamond, silicone carbonate) from the grind-ing wheels particles removed from the boards, and the water used to minimise dust and cool the tools. This sludge cannot be recycled, as it is difficult to easily separate the particles.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to drastically reduce the production of sludge from polishing of ceramic strips for bull-nose production. An innovative polishing system will be developed, where removed particles and abrasive particles will be re-used in the produc-tion of ceramic tiles. This will require the replacement of grinding wheels with polymer discs able to exert strong contact pressure on the piece being worked on, placing into the bull-nose interstice the dust produced during the initial stages of the production cycle. At the same time, the consumption of water will be drasti-cally reduced.


Name of beneficiaryTecnoceramica s.r.l. - Maranello

Postal AddressVia Ascari, 29-31 I-41053 Maranello (MO)


Name of contact personFrancesco Gualdi





L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 9 11 V O C - F R E E D E C A L S

A toxic-free industrial decoration

Official title

Volatile Organic Compounds Free Decals – Eliminating toxic, harmful and/or dangerous chemical substances from the manufacturing of industrial decal transfers

Background

Due to its high quality, the ‘decal transfer’ is the most commonly used process for industrial decoration of inert goods such as pottery, dishes, ceramic tiles, glasses and auto panels. However, this process is very polluting as the vanishes and glazes used are highly toxic, dangerous for the environment and/or easily flammable.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to completely remove the use of toxic, harmful and/or dangerous chemicals in the industrial decal transfer process. The innova-tive production process will use non dangerous dyes and water-based mediums (such as acrylates, natural resins and ethylene oxide). Due to the fact that these substances have lower technical performances, new physical treatments will need to be integrated into the manufacturing process.


Name of beneficiaryDECAL-TILE S.r.l.

Postal AddressVia XXV Aprile n° 24 - fraz. Ubersetto I-41042 Maranello (MO)

ITALYPhone +39 0536 844190Fax +39 0536 845445 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personGastone Mazzonni

Duration of project:33 months (Oct 2005 – June 2008)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / I T / 0 0 0 9 3 7 S A P I D

Pacific GMO/non-GMO

coexistence

Official title

Strategy for agricultural products identify defence. Wide area protection of agriculture products identify from Gmo pollution

Background

Diffusion of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment through so-called “genic-flux” is inevitable. A zero tolerance policy of contamination of traditional crops by GMOs is therefore not appli-cable and it is possible only to apply limits of toler-ance. Moreover, the rate of contamination depends on many factors (species, territory, etc.) which have not yet been studied in depth. As imported GMO are present in the food chain, agri-food processors have to guarantee GMO-free products to consumers with a certain degree of tolerance. Current standard allows a GMO presence equivalent to 0.9%.

Objectives

The project intends to demonstrate that lower GMO levels than the current standard of 0.9% in food chain is achievable. The objective is to attain a minimum 0.1% presence of GMOs in traditional crops, the ulti-mate goal being a 0.01% contamination. The project will define monitoring methods to identify the genetic flow on fields, the level of contamination risk and crit-ical areas. It will also identify analytical methods to avoid accidental contamination that could be applied to all fields. The project involves public authorities who have to elaborate co-existence plans for GMO/non-GMO cultivations, 90-120 farmers, trainers, and covers a 1,000 ha area.


Name of beneficiaryASSAM - Agenzia Servizi Settore agroalimentare Marche, Ancona

Postal AddressVia Alpi, 21 I-60131 Ancona

ITALYPhone +39 071 8081 Fax +39 071 85979 Email [email protected] http://www.assam.marche.it

Name of contact personFabio Cecconi




Generic Theme:3.5. Risk assessment – Pollution control


Name of beneficiaryKronospan Luxembourg S.A.

Postal AddressZone Industrielle Gadeerscheier/Pafewee L-4902 Sanem

LUXEMBURGPhone +352 590311-1 Fax +352 590663 Email [email protected] Website http://www.kronospan.lu

Name of contact personMarko Becker




Generic Theme:3.4. Reduction of emission of air pollutants

L I F E 0 5 E N V / L / 0 0 0 0 4 7 E C O S B

Eco-friendly manufacturing of

wood panels

Official title

New and environmentally friendly OSB panels

Background

Oriented strand boards (OSB) are wood-based panels, built up of three layers of strands bonded with a resin. OSB boards are used mainly in construction, roofing or as packaging material. The current technology used to manufacture these panels is responsible for high volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions during the production process as well as during the use of the panels. These emissions mainly come from resin and wood used, and vary according to the wood species and its growing conditions.

Objectives

The project aims to implement a new environmentally-friendly production process for engineered wood-based panels. The process, which is based on an inno-vative drying system, will allow a substantial reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions dur-ing the production and use phases and will therefore have a positive impact on the whole lifecycle of the product. In addition, its implementation will lead to significant reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) and car-bon monoxide (CO) emissions during the production phase.


Name of beneficiaryAmsterdam Port Authority

Postal AddressDe Ruijterkade, 7 – PO Box 19406NL-1013 AA Amsterdam

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 20 5234 522 Fax +31 20 5234 022Email [email protected] http://www.amsterdamports.nl

Name of contact personTon Van Breemen

Duration of project:42 months (March 2005 – Aug 2008)



Generic Theme:1.2. Air quality management and noise abatement

L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 1 8 N O M E P O R T S

Tracking noise in European ports

Official title

Noise Management in European Ports

Background

Two EU projects, HARMONOISE and IMAGINE, have respectively developed a new method to measure noise and a noise database. However, these projects did not cover the specific noise situation in a port, which is a source of a combination of industrial and traffic noise.

Objectives

The project NoMEPorts will elaborate a noise map-ping and management system specifically designed for port industrial areas. According to the noise maps, the project will propose action plans to reduce noise annoyance. The results will be disseminated among the participants of the EcoPorts, a network of more than 150 ports. The project will also develop a good practice guide on efficient noise mapping and man-agement for port industrial areas. The final objective is to create a level playing field by promoting the use of a uniform guideline, to be integrated in the European Noise Directive 2002/49/EC.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 2 0 H E I g H T

Climate-friendly cold stores

for fruits and vegetables

Official title

HM de Jong – Energy –efficient by Innovative Geom-etry and HFC-replacing Technology

Background

In Europe, fruit and vegetables are commonly kept in cold stores. These stores are very energy intensive – in the EU, refrigeration accounts for 10-15% of all industrial electricity use - and this results in a high CO2 emissions. The stores also leak refrigerants, which are extremely powerful and long-lived greenhouse gases (HCFC).

Objectives

The aim of this project is to reduce CO2 equivalent emissions of conventional cold stores by 70%. This reduction will be achieved by doubling the height of cold stores, installing an innovative air distribution sys-tem to guarantee a micro climate in the store and a 100% automated internal management and, finally, by switching from HCFC to CO2 refrigerant.


Name of beneficiaryHM De Jong Koel- en Vrieshuis b.v.

Postal AddressSchoudermantel 47NL-3980 CA Bunnik

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 30 6562644 Fax +31 30 6571292 Email [email protected] http://www.hmdejong.com

Name of contact personTeun Vermetten

Duration of project:36 months (Feb 2005 – Feb 2008)



Generic Theme:3.3. Reduction of emission of greenhouse gases

L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 2 1 C E P E

Reducing pesticides in horticulture

Official title

Reduction of pest control impact of horticulture on ground and surface water through a system of con-stant crop monitoring, early diagnoses, prevention and early treatment

Background

The use of pesticides in horticulture is widespread. A large part of these chemicals end up in ground and surface water. In order to use pesticides in an opti-mal way it is necessary to know when and in what quantity these have to be applied, and for how long. Currently, application decisions for soil born diseases are made by the grower based on visible crop charac-teristics. This is a very rough and inaccurate method which is usually wrongly timed (too late). In order to apply pesticides in an optimum way it is necessary to be able to determine the actual threat and act accord-ingly. Countering the threat of a disease at an early stage is easier than curing a full-blown disease and it will take significantly fewer pesticides.

Objectives

The project aims to introduce an alternative to cur-rent pesticide practices in horticulture. It will allow early detection of diseases as well as an early solution by combining existing techniques and knowledge. The project will identify the 10 most common diseases in samples of roots, and water in which plants grow, by means of existing DNA techniques. By doing this on a regular basis, diseases can be avoided or cured at an early stage, preventing massive use of pesticides. A database will be created providing quick diagnoses and advices to the grower.


Name of beneficiaryPraktijkonderzoek Plant en Omgeving BV

Postal AddressKruisbroekweg 5NL-2671 KT Naaldwijk

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 174 636885 Fax +31 174 636825 Email [email protected] http://www.ppo.dlo.nl

Name of contact personEric Kiers




Generic Theme:2.2. Water supply – Water quality – Ground water protection

L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 2 9 E S H A - T R R

Responsible roof-felt recycling

Official title

Total Roof Recycling – New Ways for old bitumen

Background

Until recently, no technically satisfactory or commer-cially feasible method existed for recycling old roof-ing felts made of bitumen, an oil derivative. In the Netherlands alone, 70,000 tonnes of roofing felts is incinerated or deposed of in landfills each year. Recently, however, a breakthrough was achieved, and new ways for treating bituminous waste were devel-oped and tested on a small scale.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate a technically and economically feasible alternative to incinerating old roofing felts or depositing them in landfills. The ap-proach proposed involves the establishment of three fully operating production lines to recycle the material into products such as new roof felts, civil waterproof-ing solutions or binder for road asphalt. After its first three years, the project expects to achieve a recycling rate of 50,000 tonnes of old roofing felts per year, using a technology that can be easily transferred to other countries in Europe.


Name of beneficiaryEsha Group B.V.

Postal AddressHoendien 316 – PO Box 2301NL-9744 TC Groningen

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 50 5516411 Fax +31 50 5515521 Email [email protected] http://www.esha.nl

Name of contact personhttp://www.esha.nl

Duration of project:42 months (May 2005 – Nov 2008)



Generic Theme:4.2: Industrial waste (including manufacturing)

L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 3 0 R 2 P

From bottom ash to high-grade

metal

Official title

Residue to Products demonstration project: converting bottom ash into high grade products

Background

Many municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) companies in Europe use a dry process to convert bot-tom ash into low-grade granulate. In the Netherlands and Germany, this granulate is recycled as road fill. Elsewhere in Europe, it is usually simply disposed of in landfills.

Objectives

The project will build a demonstration plant that applies a wet process to convert dry bottom ash into clean sand, granulate and metals for the cement, calcium-silicate brick and metallurgical industries. The wet process has a twofold advantage. Firstly, it con-verts the ash into sand and granulate that are suitable for high-grade recycling. Secondly, high-grade metals such as aluminium, copper, lead and zinc can be fully retrieved.

By closing the raw material cycle, the system will avoid the environmental impacts of mining primary raw materials, as well as of using bottom ash as road fill or depositing it in landfills.


Name of beneficiaryAfval Energiebedrijf Amsterdam

Postal AddressAustraliëhavenwegen 21NL-1040 HG Amsterdam

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 20 5876299 Fax +31 20 5876200 Email [email protected] http://www.afvalenergiebedrijf.nl

Name of contact personWil Sierhuis

Duration of project:47 months (Feb 2005 – Dec 2008)




Potato blanching comes full circle L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 3 5 C L B

Official title

Demonstration of a closed loop blanching system for the potato processing industry

Background

The hot-water blanching of potatoes is a standard pro-cedure in the production of chips (french-fries), and other potato-based products. The process is necessary to inactivate enzymes, gelatinise starch and reduce sugar content. The beneficiary currently processes 1.4 million tonnes of potatoes, using 0.35 million m3 of water for potato blanching, as well as 88,200 GJ (gigajoule) of energy to heat the water.

Current blanching techniques neither recycle water nor recover heat from the water, emitting both water and heat to wastewater treatment plants instead. Fur-thermore, around 10-30% of potato solids are leached out during the process, resulting in an unwanted loss of 50,400 tonnes of raw material a year, in the form of potato sludge.

Objectives

The project will seek to demonstrate a closed-loop blanching technology that avoids the negative envi-ronmental impacts, and loss of raw materials, that are a characteristic of existing techniques. A pilot blanch-ing system will be constructed and operated that will use selective de-sugaring to prevent browning, while avoiding the loss of valuable potato mass. Further-more, wastewater will be processed and reused for blanching, thereby minimising water consumption.


Name of beneficiaryAVIKO

Postal AddressDr. A. Ariensstraat 8NL-7220 AA Steenderen

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 575 458355 Fax +31 575 458379 Email [email protected] http://www.aviko.nl

Name of contact personDerk Somsen

Duration of project:36 months (Jan 2005 – Dec 2007)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / N L / 0 0 0 0 3 6 E F E T

Minimising the magnetic menace

Official title

Demonstration of a new environmentally friendly high voltage overhead line

Background

There is growing concern that long-term exposure to low magnetic fields emitted by high-voltage over-head lines may cause leukaemia. Many European countries are introducing legislation reducing the acceptable levels of magnetic field strength to around 0,4 μT (micro-Tesla). However, to limit magnetic fields at ground level to 0.4 μT, conventional high-voltage pylons would need to be over 100 metres tall.

Objectives

This project will demonstrate a new combination of high voltage line and pylon that emits much lower magnetic field strengths, thereby reducing negative impacts on health and the environment.

The configuration of the electrical phases is designed in such a way that the magnetic field is much lower than that resulting from a traditional configuration. New technology enables overhead conductors to be placed closer to each other and to the mast, thereby further decreasing the magnetic field’s strength. Other expected results include the use of composite materi-als for the pylons, which will decrease maintenance costs and allows them to be recycled after their life span. Finally, the new overhead masts are lower than conventional pylons and therefore have less visual impact on the landscape.


Name of beneficiaryTenneT B.V.

Postal AddressUtrechtseweg 310 – PO Box 718NL-6800 AS Arnhem

THE NETHERLANDSPhone +31 26 3731401 Fax +31 26 3731206 Email [email protected] http://www.tennet.org

Name of contact personPeter Ligtvoet

Duration of project:20 months (Jan 2005 – Sept 2006)




Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryLarge enterprise

Name of beneficiaryBRISA Auto-Estradas de Portugal, S.A.

Postal AddressQuinta Torre da Aguilha - Edificio Brisa P-2785-599 São Domingos de Rana

PORTUGALPhone +351 21 4448836 Fax +351 21 4458048 Email [email protected] http://www.brisa.pt

Name of contact personJorge Manuel SALES GOMES




Generic Theme:4.1: Municipal waste (including household and commercial)

L I F E 0 5 E N V / P / 0 0 0 3 6 6 E C O V I A

The road to recycled roads

Official title

ECOVIA - Ecological Road

Background

The quantity of municipal solid waste in Europe (415 Kg per capita in 2000) continues to grow, while in many European countries recycling rates are still very low. The main impediments to an increase in recycling are low collection rates, the high costs compared to vir-gin materials and restricted market opportunities for secondary materials. Additionally, the sometimes low quality of some recycled products makes them unsuit-able for certain uses.

The main challenges are the development of new and competitive products, as well as in the creation of solid and sustainable markets for recycled products.

Objectives

The project seeks to offer solutions to waste manage-ment problems in Portugal caused by plastics, rubber and beverage cartons. This will be done by creating new composite materials from these substances, from which lane-dividers, guardrails, anti-glare systems, road signs and other roads-related articles can be produced. Awareness will be raised among relevant actors of the benefits of these articles, as opposed to conventional products from non-recycled material. Furthermore, a ‘green mile’ of motorway will be built, within which all building material and infrastructure will be of recycled substances.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / P / 0 0 0 3 6 9 O I L P R O D I E S E L

UFO fuel

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryProfessional association

Name of beneficiaryInstituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (ISQ)

Postal AddressAv. Prof. Dr. Cavaco Silva, n° 33 Talaide Taguspark 012 Porto Salvo P - 2780-920 Porto Salvo

PORTUGALPhone +351 214 228 100 Fax +351 214 228 129Email [email protected] http://www.isq.pt

Name of contact personNorberto Duarte

Duration of project:30 months (Oct 2005 – Apr 2008)



Generic Theme:General - Waste management

Official title

Integrated Waste Management System for the Reuse of Used Frying Oils to Produce Biodiesel for Munici-pality Fleet of Oeiras

Background

At present, most Used Frying Oils (UFO) are consid-ered to be waste materials and are discharged into wastewater systems where they cause severe prob-lems in wastewater treatment plants, or are disposed of in landfills.

At the same time, EU Directive 2003/30/EC states that Member States should, by the end of 2008, ensure a minimum proportion of 5.75% of bio-fuels and other renewable fuels in transport.

Through an adequate collection and treatment of UFO, bio-diesel can be gained as an alternative fuel, at the same time reducing the environmental prob-lems caused by current UFO disposal practices.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to develop an integrated and innovative UFO waste management system that responds to existing market demands. It will promote a more efficient UFO collection from industry and pri-vate households to avoid waste disposal in landfills or wastewater systems. The project will evaluate the opportunities for reusing the residue from bio-diesel production. Finally, it will promote the use of bio-diesel as an alternative fuel to diesel. The project will demonstrate the energetic and economical benefits of bio-diesel on a municipal transport fleet.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryNational authority

Name of beneficiaryNational Administration of Meteorology (NAM)

Postal AddressSos. Bucuresti - Ploiesti No. 97, sector 1RO-013686 Bucharest

ROMANIAPhone +40 21 2303116 Fax +40 21 2307762 Email [email protected] http://www.inmh.ro

Name of contact personConstantin Ionescu





Official title

Air Pollution Impact Surveillance and Warning System for Urban Environment

Background

Bucharest is one of Romania’s most polluted cities. Sixty percent of the city’s cars are over eight years old and the intense traffic is one of the main causes of air pollution. Bucharest’s urban area is expected to continue growing at a significant rate until 2010. Air pollution from road traffic will increase accord-ingly, contributing to increased incidences of airborne lung diseases.

Objectives

The project responds to the Community’s Air Quality Framework Directive by developing a set of indicators and calibrating them by the co-relation between air pollution and public health.

Its overall aim is to assist spatial planning decision-making, traffic management and pollution control in the Bucharest metropolitan area by predicting the health and environmental impacts of air pollution. The project plans to promote a cross-institutional data sharing system, to develop a set of indicators, and to construct a mathematical model of air pollution based on a geographic information systems (GIS) platform.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / R O / 0 0 0 1 0 6 A I R - AWA R E

Modelling metropolitan

air pollution


Name of beneficiaryAINIA (Instituto Tecnológico Agroalimentario)

Postal AddressParque Tecnológico de Valenciac/Benjamin Franklin 5-11E-46980 Paterna

SPAINPhone +34 96 136 6090 Fax +34 96 131 8008 Email [email protected] http://www.ainia.es

Name of contact personAndrés Pascual

Duration of project:36 months (Dec 2005 – Dec 2008)




Official title

Ozone clean in place in food industries

Background

Clean In Place (CIP) systems are closed processes in which a recirculation cleaning solution is used to dis-infect food processing plants. Though these cleaning and disinfection methods are essential to maintain hygienic conditions, their high water consumption and the highly polluted wastewater they produce have significant environmental impacts. Hazardous disinfection by-products are a further serious environ-mental consideration.

Objectives

The project seeks to contribute to a reduction in the environmental impact of cleaning operations in food processing plants. An innovative, environmentally friendly and efficient technique will be demonstrated that uses ozone as an alternative cleaning agent.

CIP is already considered a Best Available Technique (BAT) by the European reference documents (BREFs). However, the ‘Ozone CIP’ technique is even more advanced. Ozone is a more efficient antimicrobial agent and it leaves no residues at all, since it breaks down into oxygen after disinfecting. The new tech-nique should result in a significant saving of water and an increase in wastewater quality.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 5 1 O Z O N E C I P

Cleaner cleaning


Name of beneficiaryAsociación de Investigación de la Industria Metalmecánica, Afines y Conexas

Postal AddressAvda. Leonardo da Vinci, 38E-46980 Paterna

SPAINPhone +34 96 1318559 Fax +34 96 1318168 Email [email protected] http://www.aimme.es

Name of contact personManuel SÁNCHEZ DE LA ASUNCIÓN





L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 5 6 Z E R O P L u S

Treating surface treatments

Official title

Integral liquid residuals management model for sur-face treatment industries through BAT’s

Background

The surface treatment of metal products is a signifi-cant industrial activity in Europe. A number of liquid wastes are generated by surface treatment processes such as degreasing, acid pickling, alloy baths or lac-quering. Many of these procedures form part of other products’ manufacturing processes. This can lead to an ‘invisible’ generation of pollution which is often neglected when designing preventive and corrective policies.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to define a model for managing liquid wastes created by the surface treat-ment industry. This is to be done through the integrat-ed application of existing Best Available Techniques (BATs).

The integral management model will be implemented under real-life conditions in a typical electroplating plant, to demonstrate its suitability for achieving zero liquid-waste discharge.


Name of beneficiaryDiputació de Barcelona

Postal Addressc/ Comte Urgell, 187 - 2º E-08036 Barcelona

SPAIN Phone +34 93 4022485 Fax +34 93 4022493 Email [email protected] http://www.diba.es

Name of contact personDomènec Cucurull Descàrrega





L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 6 2 g E S M O P O L I

Mechanisms for managing mobility

Official title

Integral mobility management in industrial estates and areas

Background

Many regions in Europe, especially those with a long industrial history, have a high density of industries and employees in particular zones. In the majority of cases these industrials estates were developed without con-cern for car transport or mobility issues.

Transport is a key factor in today’s economies, and a modern transport system must be sustainable from an economic and social as well as an environmental point of view.

In Europe, current transport trends are not sustainable, due, largely, to the high number of daily commuters. Furthermore, traffic accidents are the main cause of industrial injuries, as well as labour mortality in indus-trials estates. Clearly, a comprehensive transformation of transport models towards more sustainable mobil-ity patterns is needed in industrial estates.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to promote sustainable mobil-ity in six industrial parks by establishing management mechanisms and through the active participation of the institutional, economic and social agents involved in these estates.

Having identified the main mobility problems, a con-sensus will be sought amongst all stakeholders on the proposals made for sustainable mobility. Based on this, a management system for sustainable mobility will be set up, and awareness will be created to promote behavioural change by the workers and managers in industrial estates. The project will seek to transfer the management expertise gained to other industrial estates and areas.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryResearch institute

Name of beneficiaryConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas- Instituto de Investigaciones marinas (IIM-CSIC)

Postal AddressEduardo Cabello, 6 E-36208 Vigo

SPAIN Phone +34 986 231930 Fax +34 986 292762 Email [email protected] http://www.iim.csic.es

Name of contact personAntonio ÁLVAREZ ALONSO





L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 6 7 B E - FA I R

Greater value for fish

Official title

Benign and environmentally friendly fish processing practices to provide added value and innovative solu-tions for a responsible and sustainable management of fisheries

Background

The global harvesting of marine products has in-creased from an annual average of 17 million tons in the 1950s to a current 85 million tons. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) predicts an increasingly serious imbalance between the supply and demand of marine products, that will lead to yet further increases in fishing. At the same time, the FAO estimates that an annual average of 27 million tons of undesired by-catch is thrown back into the sea. This means that more than a third of the fish volume captured every year is wasted. The large amounts of organic waste thrown into the sea have severe adverse effects on the ecological equilibrium of marine communities.

Objectives

The project seeks to develop and implement efficient and integrated waste management and processing practices, both on-board and on shore (e.g. at fish auctions), to recycle and reuse waste and by-catch produced by the fishing industry.

A pre-industrial waste processing plant will be con-structed to demonstrate the methods used for process-ing waste to products and chemicals for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 8 5 R E S I T E x

Fashionable styles of waste

reduction

Official title

Alternatives for waste volume reduction in the textile sector through the application of minimisation meas-ures in the production process and in the consumption

Background

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are well positioned to serve niche markets and can react flex-ibly to changing styles in fashion. However, though they play a central role in Europe’s textile-finishing industry, they lag behind in their environmental per-formance. For instance, over 70% of Spanish enter-prises have no waste-reduction plan or management system.

The situation results principally from SMEs’ limited ca-pacity for investing in the research and development of new, environmentally friendly technologies. It is also due to a resistance to change caused by a lack of awareness of the benefits of existing technologies and practices.

Objectives

In line with EU Directive 96/61/EC on Integrated Pol-lution Prevention and Control (IPPC), the project seeks to contribute to a reduction in the quantity of waste generated by the textile sector. It will develop and demonstrate an efficient and effective waste manage-ment procedure that will be applicable to all textile sub-sectors. Best available techniques (BATs) will be assessed for applicability to the SME textile sector and introduced on a pilot scale.


Name of beneficiaryAITEX (Asociación de Investigación de la Industria Textil)

Postal AddressPlaza Emilio Sala, 1E-03801 Alcoy

SPAINPhone +34 965 542200 Fax +34 965 543494 Email [email protected] http://www.ainia.es

Name of contact personRosa López

Duration of project:24 months (Dec 2005 – Dec 2007)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 8 8 A L M O N D P R O - S O I L

Late-bloomers to flower

Official title

Soil protection in Mediterraanean areas through culti-vation of new varieties of almond tree

Background

With its major environmental, economic and social consequences, soil degradation is an increasing prob-lem in Europe. Seventeen percent of EU land area is already seriously eroded, and nearly 75% of soil in Southern Europe is low on organic matter content and biodiversity. Soil erosion is particularly severe in Mediterranean regions areas, due to the prevalence of steep slopes, dry periods followed by heavy pre-cipitation and, in some cases, inappropriate farming practices.

Almond trees are typical of the Mediterranean land-scape. They require little water and soil, and are high-ly resistant to extreme heat and aridity. They have, however, a low resilience to late frost. This, along with a shortage of bees for pollination, limits their wide-spread growth. To be able to use almond trees widely for soil protection purposes, these issues need to be addressed.

Objectives

The project’s goal is to prove the viability of growing almond trees obtained through crossbreeding local varieties with foreign species. As late bloomers with improved reproductive characteristics, these new vari-eties would be suitable as a means of soil protection.

The project will determine best farming practices for the trees, as well as analyse the approach’s possi-ble technical and socio-economic implications at the regional, national and European level. Results will be disseminated to other high-risk areas of the Mediter-ranean Basin.


Name of beneficiaryInstituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario - Consejería de Agricultura y Agua de la Región de Murcia

Postal AddressMayor, s/n E-30150 La Alberca

SPAINPhone +34 968 366722 Fax +34 968 366792 Email [email protected] http://www.imida.es

Name of contact personEulogio Molina




Generic Theme:3.6: Site rehabilitation - Decontamination

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 8 9 F E R T I g R E E N

Official title

Sustainable management of water reducing environ-mental impact using new fertirrigation methods

Background

Conventional agricultural practices in EU Member States currently result in a fertilizer consumption of 2,000-2,500 kg/ha/year. This has considerable neg-ative consequences for soil and water pollution in Europe.

Recent studies suggest that adding carbon dioxide and oxygen to water used for irrigation (a system known as “fertirrigation”) increases both yield and crop qual-ity, while reducing soil and groundwater pollution. Though first studies have proven highly promising, fertirrigation has not yet been tested on a large scale.

Objectives

The project seeks to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of fertirrigation, as well as several other new agricultural techniques. Applied to large-scale intensive crops, this approach will aim to contrib-ute to a reduction in soil and groundwater pollution. The fertirrigation technology will be applied in six cut-flower producers’ greenhouses. The project will seek to optimise the technique and develop a standard pro-cedure for its widespread implementation.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryMixt enterprise

Name of beneficiaryCITAGRO S.A.

Postal AddressGutenberg s/n. - Edificio IATE-41092 Sevilla

SPAINPhone +34 95 4467486 Fax +34 95 4460470 Email [email protected] http://www.citagro.es

Name of contact personNathalie Chavrier

Duration of project:36 months (Aug 2005 – Aug 2008)




Nourishing irrigation

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 2 9 2 O L I V E WA S T E

Treating olive oil residues

Official title

Sustainable management of water reducing environ-mental impact using new fertirrigation methods

Background

Olive production is a significant economic sector in southern Member States, especially in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. However, the extraction process involved in olive oil production generates non-biode-gradable phytotoxic waste, and is therefore a signifi-cant source of pollution. Despite the introduction in the 1990s of improved separation systems that reduce both water use and the quantities of liquid residues produced, the problems of waste toxicity, high en-ergy consumption and the disposal of final residues remain.

Objectives

The project’s main goal is to demonstrate the environ-mental advantages, as well as the economic and tech-nical viability, of a new system for treating waste from olive oil production. The system is based on a three-step procedure comprising the separation of solid resi-dues, an evaporation and condensation process, and a final water treatment. After prototypes have been developed for each of these stages, a pilot plant will be constructed to convert the waste to liquid and solid fertilisers and irrigation water.


Name of beneficiaryCentro de Automatización, Robótica y Tecnologías de la Información y de la Fabricación (CARTIF)

Postal AddressParque Tecnológico de Boecillo, Parcela 205E-47151 Boecillo

SPAINPhone +34 983 546504 Fax +34 983 546521 Email [email protected] http://www.cartif.es

Name of contact personJosé Ramón Perán González

Duration of project:40 months (Nov 2005 – March 2009)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 0 1 E C O - C E R A M I C S

Upgrading sludge

Official title

Ecological ceramics optimization. Alternative to sludge disposal

Background

Over the past 15 years, ambitious city wastewater purifying programmes have been implemented across Europe. This has led to a considerable increase in the sludge generated by sewage treatment plants, which is either deposited in landfills or incinerated. Increas-ingly, it is also processed to produce fertiliser. How-ever, sludge generally contains heavy metals and or-ganic substances, and the environmental and health impact of its use as fertiliser has not yet been fully investigated.

Objectives

The project will demonstrate a new sludge manage-ment concept, introducing a method that will involve reusing it as material for the structural ceramics in-dustry. During the process, the organic substances in the sludge are eliminated through burning, while the heavy metals are safely bound. Furthermore, since sludge itself is burnable, energy is saved during the ceramic production process. The project also addresses the issue of sludge transport from wastewater treat-ment plants to industrial sites.


Name of beneficiaryCMA-JCCM - Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha

Postal Addressc/Quintanar de la Orden s/nE-45071 Toledo

SPAIN Phone +34 925 286706 Fax +34 925286829 Email [email protected] http://www.jccm.es

Name of contact personMariano Martínez Cepa




Generic Theme:2.3. Waste water treatment

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 0 2 E C O D I P T E R A

Treating flies to manure

Official title

Digestion project and later decrease of swinish dung by use of the dipterans fly

Background

The huge volume of pig manure generated across Europe, and its customary use as fertiliser for agricul-ture, is the cause of serious environmental problems. These include the leaching of high nitrogen, which causes an excess nutrient enrichment of soil and water, and the emission of odours and greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the use of manure for fertiliser can result in the spreading of pathogenic micro-organisms that can be transferred from animals to people, being spread through air and water.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to demonstrate a novel method of treating pig manure. Insects (mainly flies) are used to decompose the waste and transform it into high quality fertiliser that can be applied without negative impacts on environment or health. The com-post will be used to fertilise parks, gardens and green areas of the surrounding towns, thereby supporting a campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of the new, environmentally friendly technique.


Name of beneficiaryDiputación Provincial de Valencia

Postal AddressAvenida Dr. Peset Aleixandre, 63 E-46009 Valencia

SPAINPhone +34 963 883081 Fax +34 963 883075 Email [email protected] http://www.dva.gva.es/diputacion.asp?portada

Name of contact personEmilio Sanchis Moll




Generic Theme:4.4. Agricultural waste

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 1 3 g E A

Getting irrigation on line

Official title

Excellence in irrigation water management

Background

Mediterranean countries use around 70% of their water for irrigation. The average loss of water in the region is extremely high, with often less than half the water foreseen for irrigation actually reaching the crops. The mismanagement of this resource poses a particular problem in a region already suffering from a lack of water reserves. However, considerable po-tential exists for improving the efficiency of irrigation systems, and as most water is used for this purpose, a small increase in irrigation efficiency would result in a major water saving.

Objectives

The project will demonstrate the use of an interop-erable management platform called “gEa” in the El Vicario community in Guadiana, Spain. The online system supports decision-making by offering the au-tomated and real-time reading of meters, control of water quality, regulation of water consumption, and detection of leaks. Considerable water savings are ex-pected, along with a better control of salinity levels and exploitation of nutrients.


Name of beneficiarySoluziona Consultoría y Technología S.L.

Postal AddressAv. Arteixo, 171 E-15007 A Coruna

SPAINPhone +34 91 2102000 Fax +34 91 2114563 Email [email protected] http://www.soluziona.com

Name of contact personSantiago Escribano Testaut

Duration of project:18 months (Sept 2005 – Feb 2007)



Generic Theme:2.1. Water management at the scale of the river basin

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 1 7 E LV E S

Motor metals for motors

Official title

Development of a System for High-Quality Separation of Metal Alloys from End-of-Life-Vehicle Engines and its Reuse in New Engines and Components for Auto-motive Sector

Background

In the EU, between 10 and 11 million vehicles reach the end of their useful lives every year. This generates around 9 million tons of waste, which is generally con-taminated with heavy metals, as well as oil and other lubricating fluids.

However, the EC Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) requires all metal components from ELVs to be separated and decontaminated for reintroduction in the automobile industry. Nevertheless, a number of countries in Europe are having difficulties in comply-ing with EC legislation, due to a lack of the facilities needed for reusing ELV materials.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of a new high-ca-pacity process for separating metal alloys with degrees of purity of over 99%. The system will use a com-bination of magnetic separation techniques, Foucault currents, granulometry and flotation to separate iron, aluminium and heavy metals from ELV engines for reuse in new vehicle motors. The project prototype is expected to process 650 tons/week of used engines. The project will also address the logistics network between the firms who process the old engines and the car manufacturers who use the recycling materials.


Name of beneficiaryRECIEDER, S.L.

Postal AddressPaseo Independencia, 4 - 1°D E-50004 Zaragoza

SPAIN Phone +34 976 400160 Fax +34 976 400170 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personGotzon Armendariz

Duration of project:27 months (Jan 2005 – Apr 2007)



Generic Theme:4.8. End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV’s) and tyres

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 1 9 M I C R O P H I L O x

Journalistic title Managing

methane

Official title

Energy recovery from landfill’s biogas by the use of microturbines and biological removal of hydrogen sulphide and siloxanes

Background

Decomposing organic waste in landfills generates large quantities of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), greenhouse gases that contribute significantly to the global problem of climate change. Methane is, however, a biogas that can be used for generating power and heat. Nevertheless, conventional technol-ogy for extracting biogas for use as an energy source is seldom cost-efficient, generally only managing to capture about half the gas produced.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate a system for recover-ing biogas from landfills in which biogas production is too low to apply conventional technology. Two pilot plants will be built for the biological reduction of hydrogen sulphide and siloxanes, which are corrosive and must be removed to avoid damage to equipment during combustion. The plants will be integrated with a system of micro-turbines, which will produce elec-tricity and heat from the landfill biogas.


Name of beneficiaryCespa Gestión de Residuos S.A.

Postal AddressGran Vía de Les Corts Catalanes, 657 E-08010 Barcelona

SPAINPhone +34 93 3435470 Fax +34 93 3435479 Email [email protected] http://www.cespa.es

Name of contact personElena Jimenéz Coloma

Duration of project:42 months (Oct 2005 – March 2009)



Generic Theme:Reduction of emission greenhouse gases

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 2 8 P R E V O C P L A N

Reducing VOC emissions

Official title

Pilot Demonstration Plant for Reduction of VOC Air Emissions

Background

Great quantities of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) are used as solvents in products such as paints, var-nishes, wax, degreasers, and cleaning agents by Eu-rope’s manufacturing and surface treatment industries. Exposure to VOCs can cause health problems such as headaches, nausea, and damage to the liver, kidney and central nervous system. Furthermore, some VOCs are known or suspected carcinogens.

Current technologies for controlling VOC emissions, such as active carbon absorption, catalytic oxidation and thermal incineration, have difficulties in efficiently treating varying chemical products with differing lev-els of VOC concentration. Equipment is therefore of-ten built to cope with peaks in concentration, leading to oversized systems and excess energy consumption in operational phases with only a low concentration of organic components.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to build and run a demonstra-tion plant that uses an innovative system for reducing VOC emissions from surface treatment factories. The system is based on a regenerative thermal oxidiser plant for gas emissions, with a zeolite molecule filter at the inlet that permits the removal of potential peak solvent concentrations. The system is expected to achieve a significant reduction in energy consumption and in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.


Name of beneficiaryAlkor Draka Ibérica S.A.

Postal AddressCarretera del Montnegre 13 E-08470 Sant Celoni

SPAIN Phone +34 938 484012 Fax +34 938 673051 Email [email protected] http://www.alkor.es

Name of contact personEugenio Solina Fierro





L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 3 0 P R I O R AT

Growing greener grapes

Official title

Making compatible mountain viticulture development with European Landscape Convention objectives

Background

A significant economic sector in many European coun-tries, viticulture has a number of adverse effects on the environment. The terracing of vineyards is a major intervention in the natural landscape. The elimination of herbaceous surfaces on the generally steep slopes, along with the application of inappropriate irrigation systems, leads to erosion and a loss of organic matter in the soil, and therefore a loss of fertility. Further-more, soil is often contaminated by the excessive use of fertilisers and chemical products.

Objectives

The project will demonstrate the potential of a moun-tain viticulture sustainable management system to reduce the sector’s environmental impacts, while still producing wines of outstanding quality. A series of new techniques will be tested at three vineyards in Spain and France. The project will seek to achieve a reduction in landscape alteration and visual impact of terracing; an increase in vegetation cover leading to a rise in organic matter in the soil; a reduction in the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers; and a decrease in water consumption by means of subsurface drip irrigation systems.

Beneficiary:Type of beneficiaryNGO-Foundation

Name of beneficiaryFundació Fórum Ambiental (FFA)

Postal AddressAvda. Reina María Cristina, s/n E-08004 Barcelona

SPAINPhone +34 93 2332652 Fax +34 93 2332496 Email [email protected] http://www.forumambiental.org

Name of contact personCarles Mendieta

Duration of project:40 months (March 2005 – June 2008)



Generic Theme:3.2. Integrated environmental management

L I F E 0 5 E N V / E / 0 0 0 3 3 3 H I D R O S O L A R 2 1

Cooler means of cooling

Official title

Building demonstration based in solar cooler and hydrogen conversor of renewable energies

Background

Within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol, Europe has committed itself to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 8% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. Lighting and air-conditioning of buildings account for a substantial proportion of Europe’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy consumption.

Two technologies are currently considered to have a great potential for contributing to a reduction in the CO2 emissions of buildings. “Solar cooling” uses ex-cess solar energy to cool buildings during the hottest hours of the day, while “hydrogen conversion” allows the storage of energy in form of hydrogen. Both tech-nologies have been developed and successfully tested by the project partners at an experimental scale.

Objectives

The project seeks to demonstrate how renewable energy obtained from solar cells and wind turbines can, through solar cooling and hydrogen accumula-tion, effectively and economically supply lighting and cooling for a 2,400m2 building. The project will de-velop pre-industrial prototypes of the two technolo-gies, before integrating them into the existing public building. Power production, storage and use will be completely free of CO2 emissions, saving 95 tons of CO2 per year.


Name of beneficiaryAsociación Plan Estratégico de Burgos (APEBU)

Postal AddressCalera, 18 - 1ºA E-09002 Burgos

SPAINPhone +34 947 257905 Fax +34 947 250017 Email [email protected] http://www.burgosciudad21.org

Name of contact personJuan Carlos Aparicio Pérez




Generic Theme:5.4. Sustainable building


Name of beneficiaryAlfa Laval Corporate AB

Postal AddressRudeboksvägen 1 S - 22100 Lund

SWEDENPhone +46 46 366 682Fax +46 46 367 191 Email [email protected] http://www.alfalaval.com

Name of contact personTommy Norén

Duration of project:27 months (Jan 2005 - Apr 2007)


EC contribution in euro with %:1,017,240.00 (25.57 %)


L I F E 0 5 E N V / S / 0 0 0 4 0 1 A R T

Reacting better

Official title

Advanced Reactor Technology for Sustainable Pro-duction in the Chemical Industry

Background

For the chemical industry, Europe’s third largest manu-facturing sector, finding safer, cleaner and more en-ergy-efficient manufacturing processes is an urgent challenge. In the sector, standard production equip-ment is often poorly suited to the chemical transfor-mation undertaken. This results in inefficient energy use, poor product quality and the creation of unde-sired by-products. It therefore poses a major obstacle to more environmentally adequate solutions for the production of chemicals.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to demonstrate an innovative continuous reactor technology, to be used for synthe-sis and other chemical reactions. Advanced Reactor Technology (ART®) combines many of the attributes of micro-reactors, plate heat exchangers and tube reactors. The pilot-scale reactor is expected to surpass current Best Available Techniques (BAT), achieving a 50-70% reduction in energy use, an over 80% reduc-tion or suppression of potentially dangerous reactants, a significantly lower volume of waste, as well as im-proved product quality, efficiency and safety.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / S / 0 0 0 4 0 5 D M E V E H I C L E

Heavy duty for alternative fuel

Official title

Demonstration of DiMethyl Ether Vehicle for Sustain-able Transport

Background

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has committed itself to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 8% below its 1990 level by 2008-2012. Today, over 97% of transport related energy comes from crude oil, with heavy vehicles generally running on diesel. However, the EC is seeking to substitute 20% of conventional fuels with alternative road fuels by the year 2020.

Currently, dimethyl ether (DME) is the alternative fuel with the best ‘well-to-wheel’ energy efficiency. Furthermore, if produced from biomass, it is almost carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral. It is therefore consid-ered one of the most promising fuel options for the future.

Objectives

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has committed it-self to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 8% below its 1990 level by 2008-2012. Today, over 97% of transport related energy comes from crude oil, with heavy vehicles generally running on diesel. However, the EC is seeking to substitute 20% of conventional fuels with alternative road fuels by the year 2020.

Currently, dimethyl ether (DME) is the alternative fuel with the best ‘well-to-wheel’ energy efficiency. Furthermore, if produced from biomass, it is almost carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral. It is therefore considered one of the most promising fuel options for the future.


Name of beneficiaryVolvo Powertrain AB

Postal AddressS-40508 Gothenburg

SWEDENPhone +46 31 66 59 94Fax +46 31 66 55 20Email [email protected] http://www.volvo.com

Name of contact personHenrik Landälv

Duration of project:23 months (Jan 2005 - Dec 2006)


EC contribution in euro with %:907,302.00 (50.00 %)



Name of beneficiaryAquablast Holdings Limited

Postal AddressSouth Denes RoadUK-NR30 3PR Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 1493 330140 Fax +44 1493 330139Email [email protected] http://www.aquablast.co.uk

Name of contact personAndrew Watt

Duration of project:18 months (Sept 2005 – Mar 2007)

Total budget in euro:2,604,335



L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 11 8 T R E A D

Blasting tyres

Official title

Tyre Recycling for Environmental ADvantage

Background

In Europe, an estimated 3 billion waste vehicle tyres are currently stockpiled, posing a great hazard to the environment. While the stream of waste tyres is pre-dicted to grow significantly across the EU in the com-ing years, the EU Landfill Directive now bans the land-filling of whole tyres, and will ban most shredded tyres from landfills by 2006. The effective management of waste tyres therefore poses a great logistical, technical and environmental challenge.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate how a technology called “ultra high-pressure water blasting” (UHP) can be used to convert waste tyres into their component materials. Feasibility studies have already shown UHP’s potential to achieve the complete reduction of waste tyres to clean rubber crumbs and steel. Through this project, a demonstration facility will be designed and built with an initial capacity of 750,000 tyres per year, to prove the method’s feasibility on a large scale.

L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 2 1 P R O M O T H E M B R

Zeroing in on sludge

Official title

PROcess water recycling with a THErMOphile Mem-brane Bio Reactor installation for treatment of high temperature waste water, containing recalcitrant cod, with almost zero waste (sludge) production

Background

Numerous industries in Europe produce wastewater containing bio-degradable organic compounds. The most common way to process such waste is through aerobic treatment. This natural biological degradation and purification process involves optimising the sup-ply of oxygen to micro-organisms that break down the waste’s organic components. However, treatment of the sludge resulting from the process requires a large amount of chemicals and energy, and entails serious environmental impact and risks.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a “thermophile operated membrane bioreactor”, for treating high-temperature wastewater containing recalcitrant organic compounds. The operation seeks to achieve a near zero sludge production, and a high COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and TSS (Total Sus-pended Solids) removal efficiency.

The new sludge processing technology is expected to result in a significant reduction in both energy and chemical consumption. The project’s pilot system will treat approximately 500,000 m3 of wastewater per year, with an average COD-level of 5,400mg/l.


Name of beneficiaryNorit UK Ltd (NAC)

Postal Address45 Clydesmill PlaceUK-G32 8RF Glasgow

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 141 641 8841 Fax +44 1416410742 Email [email protected] http://www.norit.com

Name of contact personRobert Hogg



EC contribution in euro with %:417,500.00 (18,71%)


L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 2 2 C L E A R

Woolly future for glass cullets

Official title

Project to demonstrate a system to increase Cullet Leverage for Environmentally Attractive Recycling

Background

In recent years, new legislation has contributed to an increase in glass recycling across the EU. Much of this increase has been observed in the glass manufacturing industry, where recycled glass cullet has increasingly been used as feedstock. This saves using virgin raw materials, and also reduces the glass industry’s energy consumption, as well as carbon dioxide (CO2), par-ticulate and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

However, the types of glass cullet that can be eco-nomically recycled are limited, since the composition and contamination of many types, such as cullet from end-of-life vehicles (ELV), television screens, lighting products and building scrap, negatively impact on final product quality. These types of waste glass are therefore removed before processing, and are gener-ally disposed of in landfills.

Objectives

The project’s principal objective is to demonstrate an innovative combination of technologies for significant-ly increasing the proportion and the variety of waste glass used for the manufacture of glass fibre insulation products. The project will seek to prove the recyclabil-ity of glass that is currently unsuitable for most glass manufacturing processes.

The applied system is expected to surpass current EU Best Available Techniques (BATs), aiming to increase the percentage of contaminated waste glass used in glass fibre production from currently around 15% to over 60%.


Name of beneficiaryKnauf Insulation Ltd

Postal AddressStafford Road 10UK-WA10 3NS St Helens, Merseyside

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 1744 766810 Fax +44 1744 766799Email [email protected] http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/

Name of contact personRoger Jackson

Duration of project:24 months (Sept 2005 – Sept 2007)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 2 4 M A D B u T B E T T E R

Treating sludge better

Official title

The demonstration of high rate enzyme hydrolysis as the safest and most environmentally friendly way to treat sewage sludge for land recycling

Background

Implementation of the EC Directive on Urban Waste-water Treatment, with its stricter requirements for managing wastewater, has lead to a dramatic in-crease in the production of sewage sludge throughout Europe in the past 15 years. Compared to a mere 5.5 million tonnes in 1992, nearly 9 million tonnes of dry matter will be produced in 2005. This figure will con-tinue to grow as the number of households connected to sewers increases and new sewage treatment works are built.

Current sewage sludge treatment technologies are either inefficient or polluting, and managing its con-tinuously growing supply is a major problem in the EU, especially in the new Member States.

Objectives

The project’s overall aim is to demonstrate that a proc-ess known as “High Rate Enzyme Hydrolysis” is the safest and most efficient means of treating sewage sludge for land recycling. The soil conditioner or ferti-lizer resulting from the process is expected to exceed the strictest current and predicted European safety standards. The project will also demonstrate that the Enzyme Hydrolysis technology can easily be retrofit-ted to existing wastewater treatment plants.


Name of beneficiaryUnited Utilities PLC

Postal AddressDawson House, Great SankeyUK-WA5 3LW Warrington

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 1925 23 7230 Fax +44 1925 23 6760 Email [email protected] http://www.unitedutilities.com/

Name of contact personSteve Whipp



EC contribution in euro with %:1,446,648.00 (17.58%


L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 2 6 F O R M O S E

Formaldehyde to sugar

Official title

The demonstration of the environmental benefits of a new chemical process (Formose), capable of 100% reduction of formaldehyde from industrial effluent waste streams

Background

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is used to manufacture a wide range of products such as glues, wood products, pre-servatives, permanent press fabrics, paper product coatings and insulation materials. However, increasing evidence is emerging of the negative effects of formal-dehyde on human health. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified for-maldehyde as carcinogenic to humans (category 1), and the EC has expressed its concern about the use of formaldehyde in the Europe.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to showcase a new process-ing technology known as formose, by which formal-dehyde is converted into non-toxic sugars. This results in a complete elimination of formaldehyde pollutant in effluent wastewater. The technology can offer a cheap and thoroughly effective solution to EU chemi-cal companies seeking to prevent formaldehyde- contaminated discharges into surface waters.


Name of beneficiarySolutia UK Ltd

Postal AddressCorporation RoadUK-NP19 4XF Newport

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 01633 754526 Fax +44 01633 754298Email [email protected] http://www.solutia.com/

Name of contact personStephen Burge

Duration of project:26 months (Jan 2005 – March 2007)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 2 7 Q u E R Q u S

Taking to the river

Official title

Maintaining Quality Urban Environments for River Corridor Users and Stakeholders

Background

In Europe’s cities, green spaces along river corri-dors often suffer from neglect, the illegal dumping of waste, pollution and security problems. Many local authorities are reluctant to implement measures towards environmental improvement within their urban river corridors for fear that investments will be nullified through vandalism. As a consequence, as well as for safety reasons, many rivers are fenced off or hidden from local people. This, in turn, leads to further neglect and environmental degradation.

Objectives

The project seeks to demonstrate how the ‘designing out crime’ model used in housing estate development can be applied to riverside environmental projects. The approach involves creating a network of usable public spaces of high environmental quality and with good access for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users. An important aspect is the continual use and oversight of these areas by local people, so as to minimise op-portunities for crime and vandalism. The approach will be applied to three urban river corridors with similar problems, but of varying size and environmental and social characteristics.


Name of beneficiaryThe London Borough of Lewisham

Postal Address5th Floor Laurence House1 Catford Road, CatfordUK-SE6 4RU

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 20 8314 2034 Fax +44 20 8314 2128Email [email protected] http://www.lewisham.gov.uk

Name of contact personMartin Hyde

Duration of project:42 months (Apr 2005 – Sept 2008)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 2 8 B I O R E g E N

Greening brownfields

Official title

Biomass, Remediation, Re-Generation: Re-using brownfield sites for renewable energy crops

Background

Across Europe, increasing quantities of no longer used industrial land, so-called “brownfields”, are poten-tially available for re-development. However, these ex-industrial sites are often contaminated by metals, making them unsuitable for human use and posing a threat to groundwater.

Current on-site remediation practices are energy- intensive and costly. Therefore, the soil is often exca-vated and removed from the site as hazardous waste – a method that merely relocates the polluted soil, leaving the problem of its decontamination unsolved.

Objectives

The project seeks to demonstrate how certain plants can act as bio-accumulators of particular metals con-tained in the soil in which they are grown, thereby offering a cost-effective option for the remediation of contaminated brownfields. Some of the plants in question can also be used as biomass crops to gener-ate heat and power, thereby contributing to the miti-gation of climate change. The project will demonstrate the approach’s viability on an industrial scale, applying the method to a variety of contaminated sites.


Name of beneficiaryUniversity of Teesside

Postal AddressBorough RoadUK-TS1 3BA Middlesbrough

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 1642 38 44 13 Fax +44 1642 38 44 11Email [email protected] http://www.tees.ac.uk/depts/clemance

Name of contact personDavid Prat

Duration of project:53 months (Dec 2005 – Apr 2010)



Generic Theme:3.6: Site rehabilitation – Decontamination

L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 3 1 M E D I S A F E

Managing medical waste

Official title

Concept for the Management of Clinical Waste based on environmentally sound policies, providing eco-nomic benefits and making Medical waste Safe and reusable as a raw material for manufacturing recycled products

Background

EU legislation prohibits the depositing of infectious waste in landfills. Therefore, medical waste is either sterilised or incinerated prior to disposal. Sterilisation is not always effective, sometimes failing to destroy all dangerous bacteria. Meanwhile, for incineration, clinical waste usually needs to be transported great distances to special incineration plants. This gener-ally also requires a certain degree of sterilisation prior to transport, greatly increasing costs. Both current methods are expensive, have negative environmental impacts and result in the loss of valuable materials.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate a novel method for the recovery of materials from clinical waste, based on a system known as “rotating autoclave technology”. This will include the application of patented densifying equipment, which will dry and reduce the volume of the recovered materials, thereby preparing them for recycling into new products. The project will estab-lish demonstration plants in the UK and Latvia, and the process applied will be developed to meet the ISO 14001 quality assurance standard.


Name of beneficiaryFiltermedia Limited

Postal AddressUnit A, Ladydown Industrial State, Canal RoadUK-BA14 8RJ Trowbridge, Wiltshire

UNITED KINDGOM Phone +44 7712 785854 Fax +44 1283 534082 Email [email protected]

Name of contact personPeter Aylmore

Duration of project:21 months (Sept 2005 – June 2007)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 1 3 7 N I T R A B A R

Reducing nitrate contamination

Official title

Remediation of agricultural diffuse nitrate polluted waters through the implementation of a permeable reactive barrier

Background

Nitrate contamination of surface waters resulting from agricultural practices continues to pose a major envi-ronmental problem. Nitrate levels in 68% of Europe’s rivers exceed natural amounts, and in many European countries it is estimated that, unless farming practices are changed, by 2100 a significant proportion of wa-ter bodies will have levels above 50mg/l. This situ-ation is leading to increasing adverse effects on the biodiversity of surface waters, their recreational and tourist value, the productivity of fisheries and the cost of treating drinking water.

Objectives

The project aims to demonstrate a technological solu-tion based on a biological process that helps protect surface waters from diffuse nitrate contamination arising from agricultural practices. Using readily avail-able material such as organic waste and clay, the cost- effective system is expected to achieve a reduction of at least 85% in nitrate contamination in water originating from agricultural land within the first six months of operation.

The project will bring together an international con-sortium of eight partners from four Member States, and will seek to achieve a widespread dissemination of the obtained results across Europe.


Name of beneficiaryUniversity of Oxford

Postal AddressThe Chancellor, Master and Scholars (Dept of Earth Sciences)62 Banbury RoadUK-OX2 6PN Oxford

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 1865 274 593 Fax +44 1865 274 586Email [email protected] http://www.firstfaraday.com

Name of contact personSimon Jackman

Duration of project:40 months (Dec 2005 – March 2009)




L I F E 0 5 E N V / u K / 0 0 0 9 9 8 I N T E g R AT E D g R E E N H O u S E

Greener greenhouses

Official title

Integrated greenhouse and other buildings utilising sustainable design, construction and operation

Background

In Europe today, greenhouses are often built and operated using unsustainable methods. Furthermore, the practices associated with the commercial horti-culture that greenhouses are generally used for often goes against the principles of a responsible environ-mental stewardship.

Objectives

Seeking to demonstrate the advantages of designing, constructing and operating environmentally sustain-able greenhouses, the project focuses on the envi-ronmental benefits of integrating greenhouses with other structures, e.g. office buildings. The initiative will consider all phases of the building life cycle, including greenhouse design, integration with other buildings, assembly, building materials and energy consump-tion. It will also establish the potential for reducing the environmental impacts of the horticultural production taking place within the greenhouses.


Name of beneficiaryThe Living Rainforest

Postal AddressStreatley Road, Hampstead NorreysUK-RG18 0TN Thatcham, Berkshire

UNITED KINGDOMPhone +44 1635 202444 Fax +44 1635 202440Email [email protected] http://www.livingrainforest.org/

Name of contact personKarl Hansen




Generic Theme:5.4: Sustainable building

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2005

ISBN 92-79-00104-3

© European Communities, 2005Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

This publication is only available in electronic format.

KH

-70-05-156-EN

-NEurope Direct is a service to help you find answersto your questions about the European Union

New freephone number: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11

Documents

LIFE Environment Compilation of Projects 2005ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/life/publications/lifepublications/compilations/...CEPE Reducing pesticides in horticulture LIFE05 ENV/NL/000029